Losing Count
by Balexi
Summary: When Santana's big move virtually coincides with a new type of encounter with an old friend, her life is suddenly turned around. Time spent with Quinn quickly moves far from friendship, along the road to something both initially struggle to define. Overwhelmed by Quinn & the cities which separate them, Santana searches to find a balance while still trying to find her dream.
1. Chapter 1

**This looks set to be a full fic, but updates may be sporadic as I'm also nearing the end of my main fic.**

* * *

**LOSING COUNT- PART I**

Santana felt heat rush to her cheeks again as Quinn allowed yet another glance to linger for a moment too long. It was probably just the alcohol but, whatever it was, it was working. It had been happening all night and Santana was beginning to wonder if finishing the drink in her hand was a good idea.

If she was really honest, it had been happening for a little longer than just this one night. She first noticed it when they were both back home for the holidays. Something about Quinn was different. There was a little more fire behind her words, a little more determination to do things that would make her happy. There was a little less care for what other people thought of her and Santana liked that. She had found herself watching her friend's movements, looking at her in a way she'd never looked at her before. Truth be told, she was looking at her like she was an option.

Santana had tried not to entertain those thoughts too much and that slap had certainly cooled the water. Talking about the slap though, that was kind of hot. When Quinn had brought it up, in front of Rachel in New York, Santana couldn't help the smirk which had graced her features. There was a small part of her who thought she really wouldn't mind 'hitting that' _very_ hard.

Santana shook her head and took a long drag from the straw in her glass. So much for not finishing it. Placing her drink on the bar, she put up a hand and shook her head as the barman motioned to get her another. Turning around she found herself scanning the crowd for golden blonde hair and piercing green eyes.

She felt her shoulders slump slightly at not being able to find the woman and made to walk over to Mercedes and Mike when she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder.

"Looking for someone Rosario?" That husky voice breathed across her ear and she felt it reverberate throughout her body as she turned slowly, Quinn's fingers running from the exposed skin of her shoulder, all the way down to her hand. Clasping Quinn's in her own she offered the woman a fleeting smile before pulling her onto the dance floor for a second dance.

As soon as they reached the dance floor, the track which had been playing ended and Finn and Rachel took the stage.

"Do you know what they're singing?" Quinn whispered into her and she was suddenly aware that she was still holding the woman's hand.

"No idea." Santana responded nonchalantly, but on the inside she could feel her pulse begin to race as Quinn's thumb swept lightly over her knuckles. She hoped, desperately, that the song would be upbeat.

She should have known better.

The moment the music began Santana considered turning around and walking back over to the bar for a shot of something strong. Quinn, however, had other plans.

"May I have this dance?" Quinn's lips seemed to pout slightly at the question and as Santana's gaze travelled from red, slowly, up to green she felt her pulse reach much lower. _What was she doing?_

She didn't know what Quinn saw as their eyes met, but inside her head Santana had screamed 'yes' in at least two different languages and she hoped, for both their sakes, that her eyes hadn't seemed quite as eager.

Regardless, Quinn took her look for compliance and let her hand slip out of Santana's long enough to put both arms around her neck. Santana felt her eyelids flutter closed at the contact and she felt her stomach somersault as she put her arms around Quinn's waist, pulling their bodies together.

Finn and Rachel's voices floated around them, but Santana was unable to make out any of the lyrics, she couldn't name the song, all she knew was how consumed she felt by everything that was Quinn.

"I've never slow danced with a girl before." Quinn's lowered voice somehow overtook the sounds around her and as the woman pulled away slightly she found herself disappointed by the loss of contact.

"I like it." _Shit_. _There it is_. _How was this woman doing this to her_? Santana felt her face scrunch up into a confused smile and she was sure she saw a suggestive glint in Quinn's eye.

As Quinn moved against her she felt soft fingers trail down her arms and lift her hands, placing them around her neck. She felt Quinn's hands run down her sides, a delicate pressure in the touch, and her hands came to rest in the small of her back, just above the curve of her ass.

Santana's heart beat out of her chest and she willed it to stop reacting, afraid Quinn would be able to feel it against her own chest. The sweet agony was exacerbated by Quinn tucking some of Santana's long dark hair behind her ear before nuzzling against her neck.

"I really want to take you upstairs right now." The words ghosted over Santana's skin and she was embarrassed by the small whimper which left her as a tingling sensation took over her whole body.

Pulling back, Quinn looked her in the eyes, her own darkening with lust as she whispered, "I'll take that as a yes."

Santana was frozen, her feet remaining stationary for a long moment before she let herself be pulled from the dance floor.

* * *

Santana found herself feeling unsteady and wondered whether it was the alcohol, the elevator or the woman with the key card, which she had just pulled from her cleavage.

Still reasoning that it was probably the alcohol, Santana felt herself falling as the door she had been leaning against, opened suddenly.

She felt a pair of strong hands grab her by the waist, keeping her from meeting the carpet and as they staggered into the room together another glance from Quinn was all it took for Santana to lose control.

Pushing her up against the door she slammed her right hand against it, up above Quinn's head, as her other hand came down, fingers sliding around her waist and bringing their bodies together again.

"You've barely said a word to me since before we started dancing." Quinn panted, looking from Santana's lips and back to her eyes.

"All my energy has been taken up trying not to fuck you." Quinn gasped and Santana was surprised to find herself sounding so assertive. Finding her confidence she dragged her right hand down the wooden door and let her fingers glide over the pale skin of Quinn's cheek before letting a single finger creep towards the woman's lips.

Their eyes met again, hooded and hungry and Santana felt arousal pooling between her thighs as Quinn sucked a tanned finger into her mouth.

"So. Fucking. Hot." Santana punctuated each word with a kiss along Quinn's jaw before removing her finger and replacing it with her lips. She felt her eyes close as they rolled back in her head at the contact, the heat from Quinn's lips spreading straight through her.

Running both hands up Quinn's body, Santana let her palms glide over her breasts and continue to the woman's shoulders. Slipping her hands inside Quinn's jacket she moved back enough for her to be able to arch off the door, allowing the article to slip to the floor.

"It's one for one, you next." Quinn bit her lower lip as she began helping her out of her dress. Santana silently cursed herself for choosing something so tight.

Standing in front of one of her closest friends, in nothing but her underwear and heels, had Santana feeling rather vulnerable and she made quick work of removing the Quinn's dress to even things up. Santana had seen her in very little on a number of occasions, but seeing her standing right there in a red lace bra and panties made her head swim.

Pulling Quinn away from the door, Santana turned the woman in her arms and walked her towards the middle of the room. As they stood by the bed, Santana's arms snaked around Quinn's torso, she moved blonde hair aside and kissed her way up Quinn's neck. Reaching her ear she grazed her teeth along the pale skin there before she asked Quinn the only question which had been on her mind for the past ten minutes.

"Are you sure you want this?" Her heart was pounding for an entirely different reason now and as Quinn turned into her arms, bare flesh brushing against bare flesh, Santana sighed deeply and looked downward. Feeling Quinn reach up to cup her chin, she let her lift her gaze so that they were eye to eye once more.

Quinn leant in and placed a soft kiss to Santana's lips and she whimpered yet again at the tenderness of the touch. "Very sure."

She shuddered as Quinn reached behind her own back and unclasped her bra, letting it fall to the floor before reaching around tanned skin and unhooking Santana's. She felt every single nerve cell in her body react as short fingernails dragged their way down her arms, taking her bra with them. As her bra dropped to the floor to join Quinn's, Santana felt bold and stepped into the blonde, both women gasping as bare chests touched for the first time.

The next few moments were a blur as Quinn removed her own panties before turning Santana and pushing her down on the bed, Santana lifting her hips as Quinn slipped her fingers into the waist band of her panties and dragged them off quickly. Quinn leaned over her and kissed down tanned skin until she reached Santana's breasts. Sucking on each nipple, in turn, she licked her way back up Santana's neck to her lips.

Lowering herself onto Santana, the two shuddered again at the feeling of their breasts pressing against each other. As Quinn came to settle into her, Santana smirked at the blush which had crept up her friend's neck and had settled in her cheeks. "Quinn Fabray, are you trying to top me."

With this Quinn threw her head back and let out a low chuckle before kissing her deeply, her tongue slipping out to explore Santana's mouth. As their tongues battled against each other, Santana began arching off the bed slightly, unable to still the movement of her hips.

Quinn pulled back, leaning on one elbow by Santana's head while the other hand played with long dark hair. "Truth? I have no fucking idea what I'm doing." The two shared a smile before Quinn continued, her own hips rolling downward against Santana, causing a low moan to escape.

"All I know, right now, is that I want you inside me." Santana's eyebrows knitted together and her mouth feel open, letting out a surprised gasp at the boldness behind Quinn's words. Barely missing a beat, she responded by involuntarily rocking her hips up into the woman before snaking a hand down between their bodies and letting her fingers dance through the other girl's wetness.

Santana allowed a satisfied smile to grace her lips, pleased that she'd had the very same effect on Quinn that she had had on her. As her fingers slipped dangerously close to Quinn's centre, she paused briefly, wanting to hear the girl beg.

Quinn pushed her hips against Santana, rocking against her fingers, trying to take control of the situation. She groaned when she didn't get her way and exclaimed in frustration, "Oh just fuck me Santana."

She felt her own centre throbbing at the woman's words and pushed two fingers deep inside Quinn. A sharp intake of breath and a low moan spurred Santana on and she used the motion of her own hips to thrust in and out of Quinn who rolled her body against Santana in perfect time.

With the motion of her hips and a hot woman writhing above her, Santana didn't think she'd be able to last much longer herself. As their eyes met, Quinn crashed their lips together once more before her lips parted and hovered directly above Santana's.

"I want to feel you." She panted and Santana had no time to respond before Quinn had shifted one leg in between hers and was reaching a hand towards her centre.

Quinn grazed her fingernails along the inside of Santana's thigh, bringing them closer and closer to their destination. Stilling her own movements against Santana's hand, Quinn looked her in the eye and bit down on her lower lip.

Feeling Quinn's sudden hesitation, Santana brought her right hand down, wrapping it around Quinn's wrist and let the woman's finger's glance her wetness a couple of times. Feeling Quinn relax, she was encouraged as the woman began rocking against her once more, encouraging her own fingers to explore deeper. Santana smoothed fingers of her free hand down the back of Quinn's, curling them against hers, pressing them inside her.

Santana's head rolled back into the pillow at the contact and it took everything in her to maintain a steady rhythm inside Quinn. When she felt her curl her fingers upward, Santana let out a string of expletives, followed by Quinn's name.

"Curling's good then?" Quinn's panted, Santana feeling the girl's muscles tightening further around her fingers.

Santana repaid the favour, curling up into Quinn and watched as she girl's jaw went slack and she panted heavily before licking her drying lips.

Santana raised her eyebrows at the girl and they shared a knowing smile. "Curling is _fucking_ good." Santana repeated the action, loving the increasingly frantic sounds coming from the other woman .

"What else?" Quinn panted, her eyebrows knitting together as Santana felt the resistance around her fingers increase. "Show me what else is good."

Santana let her thumb glide upwards and graze the woman's clit softly, "This," she flicked her thumb back the other way, "…this is _really_ good."

Anticipation and arousal tightened in Santana's stomach as she felt Quinn bring her own thumb up to her most sensitive point. Quinn looked her in the eye as she dragged her thumb through the wetness and pressed it lightly to Santana.

As she gasped she sped up her pace, thrusting in and out of Quinn and circling her clit again before pressing against it. Quinn gasped, alternating between low moans and calling out Santana's name. Santana brought her free hand to the back of Quinn's neck and pulled the woman down into her, kissing her desperately.

A final flick of Quinn's thumb against her own clit caused Santana to come undone, rolling her hips into Quinn's hand and tangling her fingers in blonde hair, urging her closer, wanting to feel as much of the woman against her as possible.

* * *

As both woman came down slowly from their high, Santana rolled them over, and kissed Quinn fervently, loving the feeling of the woman's lips moving against her own. Straddling Quinn's hips, she sat up, dragging Quinn with her and let her short fingernails scrape over her back as she kissed down her neck and across her collarbone.

Santana pulled back slightly to look Quinn in the eye before rolling back into the covers and dragging a sheet over her body as she let out a light chuckle.

Looking over at Quinn, who'd fallen back against the pillows, Santana felt herself smiling at how hot the woman looked, hair tousled and grinning, eyes slightly glazed.

Quinn sighed heavily. "So that's why college girls experiment." She swallowed deeply, finally getting her breath back.

Santana shook her head, unable to hide the smirk on her face, "And thank _God_ they do."

Quinn smiled at her and Santana marvelled at how comfortable she felt talking like this with the girl after what they'd just done.

"You know, it was fun, and I've always wondered what it would be like to be with a woman, but, ah, I don't know, I think for me it was more of a one-time thing." Quinn was now leaning up against the headboard, one toned pale leg visible above the sheets and Santana couldn't help but smile at the thought of what was under those covers.

She might have been slightly offended at Quinn's words, but the look on the other woman's face gave her away and instead, filled Santana with confidence.

"Look, you don't have to worry. I'm not going to show up at your house with a U-Haul."

Quinn breathed out a laugh and a smirk took over her lips as she reached for a water bottle from the nightstand. As she unscrewed the cap on the bottle, she smiled at Santana with the same lust filled look which found them in trouble in the first place.

"So what happens next?" Her voice was low and Santana felt her eyes close as she marvelled at how incredibly sexy Quinn sounded when she was turned on.

"Well you could walk out first," Quinn pouted playfully as she brought the water bottle to her lips and Santana felt her centre begin to throb at the look in Quinn's eye, "…or we could make it a _two-time_ thing…"

Santana felt smug as the words rolled teasingly off her tongue, but when Quinn maintained eye contact with her, placing the water bottle back on the nightstand, her heart thudded in her chest. Quinn let the sheets drop from her body and crawled the few inches across the bed towards Santana. As she tore the covers away from her, she lowered her body down onto Santana before dragging herself up level with her.

"Fucking hell Fabray." Santana breathed as the woman's lips connected with her neck, kissing their way up to her ear before whispering husky words which sent her throbbing into overdrive.

"I bet there's a lot you haven't shown me. If I'm a slow learner, maybe this'll have to turn into a three-time thing."

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**There it is. Did it fill the gap sufficiently?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, seriously overwhlemed by the response to Part I. Am planning to develop this into a full fic once I have completed INERTIA. In the mean time here's Part II - Enjoy.**

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**LOSING COUNT – PART II**

Quinn straddled Santana, sitting on the her knees in the middle of the king sized hotel room bed. As she kept her fingers buried deep inside Quinn, their bodies were pressed flush up against each other and Santana could feel small beads of sweat against her own skin as they snaked their way down from between Quinn's breasts.

She could feel Quinn's fingernails digging into her back as she held her close, every inch of their bodies touching as she rode Santana's fingers, her hips moving in a powerful circular motion in time with her panting breaths.

"Oh God, Santana. Fuck." Quinn gasped the words against her lips before pressing their mouths together and running her tongue along Santana's upper lip. She sucked Quinn's tongue into her mouth, drawing a whimper from her and kissed her passionately in return.

"Lie back." Santana demanded, lips still ghosting across Quinn's.

"What?" Quinn panted in response, breaking contact with Santana's lips, reluctantly, to look her in the eye. An almost pained expression on Quinn's face told Santana the woman resented having to think at a moment like this.

"I said lie back, I want to be on top of you." Santana's own breaths were unsteady, her voice requesting now, rather than demanding. Quinn moaned at her words, tightening her grip around her neck as she was guided back towards the mattress, Santana using her right arm for support.

Her fingers remained inside Quinn as she settled on top of her, nipping at the soft pale skin of her neck and teasing her tongue all the way up to the woman's ear.

"What if I keep doing this," Santana whispered before flicking out her tongue and toying with Quinn's ear lobe, "…_all_ the way down?" She was careful not to sound too eager, conscious that Quinn might not feel comfortable to be quite that intimate so soon, but when her breath hitched right before she let out yet another whimper, Santana was reasonably confident that the idea was a good one.

Placing small kisses across the woman's cheek until she reached her mouth, Santana kissed Quinn softly before pulling back slightly to make eye contact with her.

"Is that okay?" Her tone was gentle and patient despite her feeling the opposite on the inside. Santana felt her stomach flip, Quinn's eyebrows knitted together as she responded, her voice shaking in anticipation.

"Yes…please."

Santana smiled at her and seized her lips for a lingering, heated kiss. Pulling away, Santana let her kisses travel down Quinn's neck and across her chest before she took a nipple into her mouth and circled her tongue around it slowly. Immediately she felt Quinn clench against her fingers, growing wetter and, encouraged, she continued her kisses down the woman's body.

As she reached the woman's navel, she swirled her tongue around it and quickly felt Quinn's stomach muscles tense beneath her. Smoothing a hand over pale skin, Santana kissed her way across Quinn's stomach, careful not to proceed lower until the woman relaxed.

"Oh God, you're driving me insane." Quinn panted, bucking her hips up towards Santana at the same time.

Permission granted. With a sly grin now gracing her features, Santana moved lower. Keeping her fingers moving slowly but rhythmically inside her, she kissed lower and lower until her lips met Quinn's throbbing clit. She immediately felt her arch into the new sensation and let out a low moan.

"Oh _Jesus_. Fuck. Oh my _God_." Their eyes met briefly as Quinn lifted her head off the pillow to watch Santana working between her legs. "Fuck Santana, don't stop."

Encouraged and turned on by Quinn's constant cursing, Santana quickened her pace, circling her tongue around the swollen nub and smiling at her reactions.

She timed the final swipes of her tongue with her fingers curling up into Quinn and was rewarded by her writhing uncontrollably beneath her, alternating between yelling Santana's name and spilling more expletives than Santana thought was possible.

* * *

Feeling a little groggy as she woke up, Santana rubbed her eyes with her fist and instantly regretted doing so, feeling the sting of her mascara against her dry eyes.

Opening them slowly, Santana scanned the side of the room she was facing and was surprised not to see the exposed brick of the Bushwick loft. As her eyes came to rest on the hotel room door, the gold latch still securely in place, a smug smile formed on her face with a memory of what had occurred the night before.

Rolling onto her back slowly, Santana gritted her teeth and furrowed her eyebrows, as if those two actions alone would prevent the bed from moving or squeaking under her shifting weight. As she came to rest on her back, she glanced to her left and was surprised to see Quinn wide awake. She had her arms linked up behind her head and was staring at the ceiling, but Santana noticed a shy smile beginning to form on the woman's face.

"Good morning." Quinn spoke first, eyes still trained on the high plaster ceiling of the room.

"Yeah, it is." Santana rolled onto her left side so that she was now facing her. "You been awake long?" Santana smiled as Quinn allowed her head to roll to the side, a curious glint in her eye.

"Maybe." She stated playfully.

Santana scanned her eyes over her friend as she rolled her body inward and smoothed the pillow in front of her face, inching forwards slightly. She raised her eye brows at her, asking her to elaborate.

"Yeah, I woke up about half an hour ago." Quinn ran a hand over her face and Santana noticed her squeezing her eyes shut tightly, probably trying to alleviate the same discomfort Santana hand felt moments before.

"Why didn't you wake me?" Santana wanted to reach out and move a few strands of Quinn's hair out of her face, but stopped herself at the last minute, pretending she needed to stretch out her arm, flexing her fingers.

"Well, you were sleeping so soundly and, kind of snoring a little bit. It was kind of cute actually." Santana felt heat rise in her cheeks and noticed a more obvious flush spread over Quinn's pale skin. "Plus…" Her voice was much quieter now and she paused for some time, obviously mulling something over in her mind.

Santana felt her heart rate pick up slightly. "Plus what Quinn?"

"Ugh," Quinn buried her face under arm and spoke in a muffled tone which Santana was unable to hear.

Santana laughed and leant over, pushing Quinn's arm down onto the pillow and exposing her face once more.

"I didn't quite catch that, Fabray." She said teasingly. "Want to try again?"

As Quinn's gaze shifted upward, eyes meeting hers once more, Santana felt her stomach somersault and snatched her hand away from the woman, bringing her fist to her mouth as she cleared her throat nervously.

Quinn took a deep breath. "I said…waking you up would have meant touching you and I didn't know if that was allowed, _now_." Her face flushed again and she self-consciously brought her hand to her cheek, alternating between pressing her palm and the backs of her fingers against it.

Santana smiled easily at this and reached her hand across the bed, removing Quinn's hand from her face and holding it against the covers between them.

"_Now_, as in, in the light of day?" Santana asked delicately, dipping her head slightly to catch Quinn's downward gaze.

Quinn's glance floated from their joined hands and back up to Santana's face and she smiled, shaking her head against the pillow.

"Yeah, I mean…I don't want to make this into a big thing, but I also didn't really know the correct _protocol_ when waking up next to a naked best friend." Quinn pushed her lips together and raised her eyebrows.

Santana let out a small chuckle and leant over, careful to keep their bodies separated by the bed covers, and placed a gentle kiss to Quinn's forehead.

"Q, it's just me, okay. Don't stress. You don't have to overthink anything right now. I had a lot of fun last night." She shrugged her shoulders casually. "I had a good time and," she wiggled her eyebrows Quinn, "…I have a feeling you did too."

The two smiled at each other and Quinn separated their hands to place a playful slap against Santana's arm.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. You're hilarious," she deadpanned, "...So are going to bother showering before your walk of shame?"

Santana raised her eyebrows at the smug look on Quinn's face. "And why would _I_ be the one doing the walk of shame and not _you_?"

"Umm, Santana, this is _my_ hotel room. _Yours_ is up the hall. You're going to have to get there somehow to get your stuff." Santana could see Quinn stifle a giggle as realisation dawned her. Looking around the room, which was identical to her own, she spotted Quinn's suitcase and a small selection of the woman's jewellery was on the side table.

Nodding, she sat up on the side of the bed, pulling the sheet with her and wrapped it around herself before turning to face Quinn. "Gotcha. So _I'm_ going to shower now, and _you're_ going to rummage through that case of yours for something _I_ can wear. You can leave it outside the bathroom door."

Walking the few steps to the bathroom, she threw a quick wink back at the girl on the bed and dramatically blew her a kiss. "Thanks Q."

Shuffling into the bathroom, Santana closed the door behind her and leant against it, rolling her eyes at herself. She had meant _'thank you in advance for the clothes'_, she didn't want her friend to think she was thanking her for the night before. Dropping the sheet, Santana shrugged her shoulders, an arrogant grin creeping across her face. As she let the water run for a moment before stepping under the spray, she thought it should in fact be Quinn who was thanking her for the night before.

* * *

When Quinn headed into the shower after she had finished, Santana headed back to her own room, ten more doors along the hallway. Managing to avoid bumping into any of the others, she wondered how the night had ended up and also wondered if anyone had noticed their absence.

Flopping down onto her untouched bed, Santana folded her arms underneath her head and stared at the ceiling. She tried to close her eyes and let herself relax against the mattress, but each time she closed her eyes she had visions of Quinn on top of her and herself between the woman's legs. With each thought she squeezed her own legs together tighter, trying to stop the sensation she felt with each fleeting image.

Rolling over she retrieved her phone from the nightstand and typed out a text to Quinn.

_Heading downstairs for breakfast if you want to join me : )_

Her logic was, that if they spent a normal friendly morning together, doing normal friendly things, she might be able to shake herself out of the Quinn haze she was currently in. She quickly changed out of Quinn's yoga pants and t-shirt, throwing on skinny jeans and a plain grey tank top.

Grabbing her purse and key card, she made her way down the corridor. Her steps slowed instinctively as she passed Quinn's door but, shaking her head slightly, she continued towards the elevator.

* * *

Walking into the hotel restaurant Santana scanned the room looking for a table and spotted several of the party-goers from the night before. Mercedes and Kurt were engaging in a heated debate at a table for two, Finn was his usual combination of confused and forlorn and Mike was tucked away in a far corner of the room laughing animatedly with a ginger haired woman that Santana assumed was a Pillsbury relative. She began to wonder why Finn was even there, being that he actually _lived_ in Lima, but she reasoned that it would just be a waste of what little energy she had to entertain such thoughts.

As she skirted past Kurt and Mercedes, unnoticed, she found a table for two on the opposite side of the room, slightly secluded by lattice work which appeared to be encouraging the growth of plastic shrubbery.

Checking her phone, her shoulders slumped slightly when there was no text response from Quinn. Sighing, she picked up the menu and scanned the selection, suddenly aware of how hungry she was. Unsure whether to go for sweet or savoury, she felt her eyes flickering back and forth between eggs bennedict and pancakes with fresh fruit and ice-cream.

"Good idea."

She looked up to see Quinn sliding into the seat opposite her, hair perfectly straightened in stark contrast to the version of the girl she'd woken up beside.

Smiling in response, Santana pushed a second menu towards Quinn. As she reached out to pick it up, her fingers brushed against Santana's hand and both pairs of eyes shot up to meet each other.

"I'm sorry." The two said in unison, both blushing slightly at the sudden awkwardness between them. Santana ran a hand through her hair and looked back up at her friend.

"I don't want it to be like this. I don't want you to wonder about whether everything means something from now on. I don't want things to be weird between us." She took a sip of water from the glass in front of her and waited for Quinn to respond, surprised when the girl let out a throaty laugh, shaking her head.

"What?" She snapped suddenly, not liking the feeling that Quinn might be laughing _at_ her.

"Hey calm down San. I'm just laughing at," she looked around them before lowering her voice and leaning in closer to Santana, talking through gritted teeth "…at how it seemed we were more comfortable talking to each other with_out_ our clothes on."

Santana smiled at this and toyed with the strap of her tank top. "So...you want me to take this off?" She was aware of the flirtatious tone her voice had just taken, but the smirk on Quinn's face made her feel as though she had nothing to worry about.

Quinn raised her eyebrows and shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe." The word was uttered with confidence and Santana heard an element of challenge in her tone. Underneath the table she squeezed her thighs together and willed herself not to react to the girl's lone word.

"Okay, at least you're being honest. I guess I can't blame you for wanting more, I'm kind of hard to resist." Santana let her ego fill the silence between them.

Quinn bit down on her lower lip and shook her head from side to side, maintaining eye contact with Santana the whole time.

"It used to drive me insane, that confidence of yours, that cocky attitude. For me, that's always where our fights started, from seeing you expect to get what you wanted and then seeing it just fall into your hands." To an eavesdropper this may have sounded like the beginnings of yet another of their famous slanging matches but, seeing the glimmer in Quinn's eye, Santana knew this was very different.

"And now?" She set up her own challenge, hoping what she wanted would fall into her hands yet again.

"Now?" Quinn frowned, genuinely unsure about what Santana was asking.

"You said my confidence and cocky attitude _used_ to drive you insane. What about now?" Santana held her breath in anticipation of the woman's response.

"Oh so now…in the light of day?" Quinn's lips had formed the same pout which had sent her into a spin between rounds one and two the night before.

"Yeah." She breathed the word as she felt Quinn's foot run slowly up the back of her calf under the table.

"Well now…it just drives me _in-sane_." Santana gasped at Quinn's emphasis on the word. As their eyes met again Santana knew that, if they were even able to get through breakfast together, they'd definitely be back upstairs before lunchtime.

Swallowing thickly, she snuck her tongue out to moisten her lips and shifted her gaze to Quinn's before looking her in the eye again.

"Are you still keeping count?" Her breathing had become shallow and she let out a small whimper as Quinn placed both of her feet between hers and parted her legs under the table.

"Yep. I think this is about to become a five time thing."

* * *

**A/N: Seriously can't get enough Quinntana at the moment. Hope you're all enjoying this one.**


	3. Chapter 3

**The interest in this story has been incredible - thank you all so much for the faves/follows and reviews. I'm definitely planning a full fic with this now and have planned out at least four more chapters at this stage. Excited to hear your thoughts on this one.**

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**LOSING COUNT– PART III**

The Port Authority Bus Terminal was bustling with commuters in the early hours of Friday evening. Leaning against a glass dividing wall, at Gate #71 in the North Terminal, Santana brought her knees up to her chin and felt her knuckles press uncomfortably against the paved flooring. She had decided that sitting on her hands was the only way to stop herself from fidgeting.

It had been four weeks since the wedding that wasn't and, this meant, four weeks since she had seen Quinn. Santana had spent many moments sitting on her hands in those four weeks. The coarse fabric of Kurt's second-hand couch had rubbed against the tanned skin of her fingers, on numerous occasions, as she sat staring at her phone, in front of her, on the coffee table.

In that first week it had seemed to be a battle of wills, each girl testing the other to see who would text first; who could hold out longer. A message would eventually come from Quinn, by late afternoon, and Santana's initial reply was only ever seconds behind.

They both knew that there was something bigger going on, something which remained unnamed and left them in a limbo between friendship and…something else entirely. Santana couldn't put a name to what she felt because the words didn't seem to exist in her vocabulary. She wondered, night after night, if Quinn had a word for it. Quinn had always been better with words than she had.

Santana tried to maintain her usual stubborn and brash exterior throughout their time apart. She quickly noticed, however, that this had never before required so much effort. On the inside she felt alive in a way she hadn't in so long and yet lonelier than she'd been her entire life.

Being away from home again, and without the safety and routine of school and college, Santana felt vulnerable. Within the confines of the loft she was certainly able to exercise her, well-practised, superiority complex in front of Rachel and Kurt on occasion. Outside there, however, she felt as though every opportunity which could be hers was still just out of arms reach.

* * *

After the first week Quinn stopped texting first and if Santana didn't contact her by early evening she only gave in as far as sending a picture message. No text. The picture messages that Santana received on these days were always photographs. Photographs of a number. Sometimes the number would be on a mailbox, sometimes a street sign. Once, the number appeared on a badge worn by a child who sat next to Quinn on a bus. The number was always five.

On the days Quinn had been the first to break, Santana couldn't help but feel smug as though she had some degree of control over their ever changing relationship. Other days, when no text came, she fought conflicting emotions, unsure whether to give in and contact her or to spend the remaining hours wallowing in disappointment.

By the third week the game was getting harder to play. They still had not spoken since the wedding and that, in itself, was exacerbating the weirdness of their situation.

When no text had come on Wednesday, after no text had come on Tuesday, Santana stood staring out the window of the Bushwick loft she now called home. With an embarrassingly shaky hand she swiped her thumb across the 'unlock' bar of her phone and keyed in her four digit passcode.

Pressing the green and white handset icon, she selected Quinn's number and slowly brought the device to her ear, drawing in a deep breath. Closing her eyes as she exhaled slowly, she counted the dial tones which rattled through her once, twice, three ti…

"Hi!" Quinn answered the phone, surprise evident in her tone.

"Hi yourself." Santana said brightly, hoping her voice sounded every bit as calm and cool as she was willing it to be. "How are you?"

"Good. I'm really good Santana. You?"

Immediately lost in the melodic, husky voice on the other end of the line, Santana hesitated before answering.

"…umm…yeah good, I mean, fine, yeah I'm really good. Umm…what have you been up to?" Santana held the phone away from her head as she covered her mouth with her other hand and let out a shaky breath. _What am I doing? It's just Quinn_.

"It's nice to hear your voice San." Quinn stated this quite plainly and Santana's eyes closed as she felt her heart begin to thud in her chest. _Was that just a friendly thing to say or was it…something else?_

"Umm…how is _that_ an answer to my question." Her tone was aggressive, but her signature scowl was replaced with a cringe as soon as the words left her mouth.

"Santana, you know what I've been up to. We've texted _almost_ every day. If we have to spend ten minutes talking about the weather until you're comfortable on the phone with me, then fine, but I want to actually _talk_ to you. It's nice to hear your voice. I've missed _talking_ to you these past couple of weeks."

_3 weeks actually. _Santana thought.

"Three and a half if we're being specific." Quinn murmered, reading her mind and Santana found herself moving backwards until her legs hit the seat of the small armchair near the window. Sinking into it, she sighed audibly, no longer able to hide how overwhelmed she was feeling.

"Santana?" Quinn's voice was gentle and she felt her own face relax into a small grin.

"Yeah, I'm here Q. It's nice to hear your voice too. I've missed you." Santana slipped her free hand underneath her to stop herself from toying with the frayed seam on the edge of the armchair. "I haven't heard from you for a couple of days. What have you been up to?"

"What have _you_ been up to? That's the more important question." Quinn countered and Santana wasn't sure how to interpret the woman's tone this time. When she asked her what she meant her voice was uncharacteristically quiet.

"Your date. You told me you were going out with that Sara chick you hit it off with at Callbacks, _after_ you dedicated a _song_ to her." Santana smirked at the obvious jealousy behind Quinn's words and purposely drew out her response.

"Well…we went out to a movie on Tuesday night and then…on Wednesday morning I …I bought her breakfast." Had the two been in the same room, Quinn would have been able to tell that Santana was messing with her, but on the other end of the line Quinn's mood suddenly changed.

"You fucking slept with her? Geez Santana, really? I mean, you barely know her. You've met her twice and –"

Santana chuckled lightly, muffling the sound with her hand.

"What are you laughing at?" Santana could almost see the affronted look through the phone.

"You. Q, I'm laughing at you. Now let's get this straight," she heard Quinn scoff at her choice of words, "…I've met her _several_ times through Kurt and Rachel. I only sang 'High Heeled Sneakers' to her because she was wearing some, which I teased her about, and she had never heard the song. She'd also never heard of Janis Joplin, a detail I can't tolerate in any human, even a hot one." She added this for effect, having already agreed that Sara was cute when Quinn had asked her days before.

"Her friend's Dad was sick so she had an extra movie ticket for Tuesday night because said friend was flying home to LA. And, just for the record, I didn't sleep with her. The Janis Joplin clause would have come into effect even if I'd wanted to…which I don't. The four of us met for breakfast before their classes started. She had no cash and they wouldn't take cards so I told her I'd pay. No big deal." Santana folded her arm across her chest and crossed her legs, a satisfied grin spreading across her face.

"Fine. Whatever. You can do what you like anyway." Quinn sounded sheepish and Santana found herself wishing that they were in the same room together, thinking she could use several different methods to change the woman's mood in that moment.

She considered calling Quinn out on her jealousy, but thought better of it and felt her heart begin to race as she decided to a slightly different approach.

"Quinn, why don't you come out here this weekend? We can just hang out. We could all go to Callbacks together and you and I can do a song, that's if Rachel could resist the urge to join us. It'll be like Glee Club all over again." The drumming in her chest increased as she waited for a response from the woman.

"That would be kind of fun I guess."

Santana heard a smile in Quinn's voice and she looked up the bus timetable on her laptop while Quinn checked her school schedule for Friday.

* * *

Santana pressed the home key on her phone again to display the time. Only five minutes had passed since she had last checked and she tapped the device against her thigh as her head turned on a swivel, one way and then the other, looking for any sign of Quinn.

Humming Ani DiFranco's _The Arrival's Gate_ to herself, she became distracted by an elderly couple who were trying to organise their bags and kept arguing about who would carry what. Craning her neck she looked past them, seeing blonde hair, but felt herself deflate slightly when the woman emerging from the crowd looked nothing like Quinn.

"Looking for someone _Rosario_?" The unmistakable voice hit her all of a sudden and she turned her head quickly to see Quinn crouched on the floor beside her.

"Hi!" She couldn't mask the jubilation in her voice.

"Hi yourself." Quinn spoke as she stood up and, smiling, offered a hand to Santana.

Hesitating, she reached up tentatively and allowed Quinn to grip onto her, pulling her up from the floor. The moment their hands touched Santana felt a, now familiar, flush creep across her skin. Bowing her head to hide this, she leant over to pick up her bag and stood up pulling anxiously at the hem of her white v neck t-shirt.

The two stood face to face for a long moment before Quinn leant over to pull her in for a quick hug. Santana wrapped her arms around Quinn's middle and squeezed her lightly, trying to ignore the thudding in her chest and the urge to take a half step in to pull their bodies closer together. As she pulled away, reluctantly, she felt Quinn's lips lightly graze her warm cheek and felt her skin burn, unable to look the woman in the eye.

"It's nice to see you San. I'm glad you suggested this." Santana looked up to see Quinn's cheeks were also tinged pink, but that unmistakable and new-found confidence was still present behind those beautiful green eyes.

"Me too." Santana let her gaze rest on Quinn's lips briefly before she let their eyes meet. "Come on, let's go meet the others." Santana reached over and took Quinn's overnight bag from her hands as Quinn set down her small, matching suitcase and extended the handle, allowing her to wheel it along behind them.

* * *

The two met up with Kurt and Rachel at an Italian restaurant four blocks down from NYADA. Both had had a full day of classes and Rachel's mood, in particular, was uncharacteristically flat.

The restaurant was a far cry from Breadstix and was, essentially, McDonalds for pasta, yet it was also roughly four times more expensive.

Sitting beside Kurt and opposite Quinn, Santana found herself the subject of many a lingering glance throughout dinner. It was both unnerving and exciting and she hoped that she had been the subject of Quinn's thoughts, over the past month, to the extent her _friend_ had been the subject of hers.

"So Quinn, are you still seeing the unhappily married Professor then?" Kurt took a long sip of his drink as he challenged her on the topic.

Santana looked at Kurt, accusingly, before glancing at Quinn, trying to gauge her response even before she spoke.

"Well Kurt, I don't _actually_ recall mentioning _him_ to _you_," she raised her eyebrows in Santana's direction and Santana simply shrugged as Quinn continued, "…but the answer is no. I ended it."

Santana's eyes widened now. They hadn't discussed it and Santana had frankly been too afraid to broach the topic, not wanting to hear about it if it was still going on.

"Oh really? When did this all happen then?" Rachel finally seemed to find an ounce of her usual nosey personality and piped up.

"Oh," Quinn looked around the room vaguely, "…a few weeks ago." She shrugged and returned her gaze to the dinner which sat, largely untouched, in front of her.

Santana took a deep breath and let it out slowly, delicately, not wanting anyone to hear her and realise she was using it as a calming mechanism.

"A few weeks ago, eh?" Santana tried to mask the hint of curiosity, mixed with flirtatiousness, which she felt creeping into her voice. "You didn't mention _that_ in any of your texts. When _exactly_ did you do this?"

Quinn's eyes slowly swept upwards to meet hers and Santana felt her breath hitch at the lust in the other woman's eyes. "My first day back after the wedding." Quinn bit her lower lip.

Santana was reasonably confident, looking at their two friends now distracted by their own conversation, that neither had picked up on the drop in Quinn's tone.

"Really?" Her own voice was barely audible above the numerous conversations going on around them.

Quinn nodded slowly, her eyes not leaving Santana's. Her own gaze now mirrored Quinn's and as they stared at each other, oblivious to their surroundings, Santana allowed her foot to slide slowly across the floor underneath the table.

As it met Quinn's leg, she ran the top of her foot gently against the back of Quinn's exposed calf in a gesture which mirrored the morning after their _encounter_. She felt her own heart rate pick up further as she saw Quinn's eyes flutter closed in response.

Unaware, Kurt finished his drink before directing his attention back to Quinn. "So, was it the wedding? Did something happen? What made you decide to call it off?"

With her gaze still trained solely on Santana, Quinn replied slowly. "It was just…something I felt I should do."

Santana let out a shallow breath at her response and felt her eyebrows knit together. Anticipation and confusion swirled together inside her.

* * *

After arriving back at the loft, Kurt announced that he was going to meet up with Adam and would probably end up staying with him. He showed Quinn to his area of the open space, saying she was welcome to his bed for the night. Thanking him, she set down her bags and was left alone to change.

As Santana did the same she found herself fussing about, self-consciously, and checking herself the mirror with each new piece of clothing. Slapping her palm against her forehead she cursed herself, following it with a mental reminder that it was night time and all the clothes were pajamas.

"I personally think the _black_ shorts looked better with that top."

Santana spun around to find Quinn leaning against the exposed-brick wall, a cheeky grin upon her face.

"Geez Quinn. You keep creeping up on me. How long have you been standing there?" Santana quickly gathered up the pile of discarded pyjamas from her bed and threw them on a chair in the corner.

Quinn's grin grew wider and she crossed the area, moving towards Santana slowly. "Long enough to be reminded about how much I missed those legs…_and_ how much I enjoyed having them wrapped around me." She bit her lower lip again, a gesture which drove Santana crazy.

"Quinn," Santana gasped her name, "…what about Rachel?"

Closing the gap between them, Quinn reached out a hand and grabbed hold of Santana's black tank top, using it to pull her nearer. Lifting her other hand to Santana's cheek, she smoothed the backs of her fingers over tanned skin before running the palm of her hand over her jawline and around the side of her neck.

Santana's eyes closed of their own volition she felt her chest rise and fall heavily with the sudden change in her breathing. As Quinn pulled her closer still, she felt her breath tickle her lips as she spoke.

"Rachel's gone to bed and I'd really like to as well." Quinn ducked her head slightly and captured Santana's lips in a tender kiss which felt nothing like casual and carefree and everything like that beautiful tension Santana still didn't have the words to describe.

Wordlessly, Santana walked around to the right hand side of the bed as Quinn automatically went to the left. Turning back the covers, Santana moved into the middle and reached to pull Quinn into her. Leaning over, she placed delicate kisses to Quinn's lips, slowly continuing down her jawline and nuzzling into the woman's neck, breathing her in.

Propping herself up on an elbow she let her fingers take over, running them down Quinn's neck and across her collarbone before trailing her hand down towards an exposed hip, grazing the curve of Quinn's breast along the way.

Stroking her fingers across Quinn's hip bone, she gradually pushed her top higher, revealing more smooth pale skin. "I've missed this." Santana flattened out her hand and smoothed her palm, in a circular motion, over Quinn's firm stomach.

She lowered her head to kiss her again, their eyes meeting as they parted.

"Me too. I-ah," she paused as Santana'd fingers seemed to reach a particularly sensitive spot, " I _really_ like this Santana. I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since we left Lima," she ran her hand up and down Santana's arm as she spoke, sending goose bumps to the surface of her skin, "…every time I sent you a five, I just kept thinking about how much I wanted to make it a six."

Kissing her, Santana moved over so that she was on top of her and she toyed with strands of Quinn's blonde hair as light kisses were placed along her neck. Gravitating away from Quinn's lips, she looked into those incredible eyes again, holding Quinn's gaze as she worked up the courage to try and narrow the chasm between what they were saying and what she was feeling.

"Quinn, I – I want more than that." She resisted the urge to shift her gaze even though she felt completely exposed, fully clothed, in her own bed.

"More than a six time thing?" Quinn tried to clarify, a smile adding an extra sparkle to her eyes.

She shook her head lightly. "More of _you_," she ran a hand down Quinn's body slowly, again, before bringing it back up and lightly tapping a finger to the side of Quinn's head, "…I want more of _this_. I just need..._more_, I…"

Her words faded into the half-light created by the moon which shone through the poorly covered window. Quinn's brow furrowed slightly, but she looked at her with interest, waiting patiently for her to finish.

"I just... I _really_ want to lose count with you."

As Quinn sighed deeply at her words, Santana allowed their lips to meet once more, but noticed that, this time, there was more in the kiss. There was an understanding. There was relief, in knowing that this time wouldn't be the last. Santana knew her words, still, were not the right ones, but in the moment she felt that at least they had bridged a gap.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks again for sticking with me folks. I love writing these two :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Seriously overwhelming response to the last chapter everyone. Thank you. **

* * *

**LOSING COUNT – PART IV**

Santana traced her fingers lightly down Quinn's arm as she lay, facing her, on the bed. The clock had ticked by twice as fast over the past six hours and she was already dreading the moment the sun would begin to creep over the tops of buildings outside and in through her window.

It almost scared her how familiar it was to have Quinn next to her. To be able to touch her freely and talk in hushed tones, as though she was keeping the best secret she'd ever had. It was still Quinn, though. Sure, the way they were right now was different, but Quinn had always felt like home to her. Quinn had always been a constant, even when they were feuding.

Running her hand up along pale skin again, and then back down, Santana laced her fingers in between Quinn's as she began to stir. Smiling shyly, Quinn let out a husky laugh before burying her face in the pillow, laughing again.

Bringing their joined hands up between them, Santana tugged lightly to encourage Quinn closer. Obliging, Quinn shuffled over and let her arm hang across Santana's middle.

"I guess I fell asleep?" Quinn whispered, rubbing her hand gently against Santana's back.

"Just for a little while. You kind of started talking nonsense about ten minutes beforehand though." Santana teased quietly and Quinn shoved her playfully, pushing her onto her back.

"Did you sleep at all?" Quinn asked, pulling Santana closer to her and running her fingers through long black hair. Santana shook her head and reached up to run her own through messy blonde, encouraging Quinn closer to her. Eyes closing automatically as their lips touched, Santana smiled as she felt Quinn shift closer, draping a leg across hers.

"You… must be… exhausted." Quinn spoke between kisses before pulling away and leaning on her arm. "What were you doing all that time?"

"I was just thinking…and trying to avoid us both falling asleep only to be woken up by Berry in a couple of hours, leaving you with no possible means of escape." Santana rolled inward again so the two were facing each other, legs entangled.

Quinn let out a breathy laugh. "Yeah, it would be such a scandal if she walked in only to see us fully clothed, right?" She quirked an eyebrow, further emphasising the sarcasm in her words.

"Sure we're clothed, but we don't exactly look like a couple of friends just sharing a bed, do we?" She gestured to their current position.

Quinn was quiet for a moment before leaning in to kiss Santana once more. Avoiding eye contact, she asked the very question which had been playing on Santana's mind as she lay awake. "What _do_ we look like Santana?" Her voice was faint and timid. "What _would_ someone think if they walked in right now?"

Not knowing how to respond to the question, for fear of giving the wrong answer, Santana deflected by rolling Quinn onto her back and moving over to straddle her hips. Pushing up her top, she let her hands roam over Quinn's body and felt herself smirk as an alternative conversation topic came to mind.

"When did this," she picked up both of Quinn's hands and slipped them under her top, "…whole idea first come to mind?"

"What? The idea of getting my hands on you?" The sound of Quinn's low, suggestive tone caused Santana's stomach to flip and she nodded slowly.

"Well…remember when we all went back to Lima for Thanksgiving?" Quinn pushed her hands higher under Santana's top causing her sigh deeply.

"Are you kidding me? Of course I remember it." Santana narrowed her eyes, smirking. "You _slapped_ me. That's kind of memorable."

Quinn removed her hands from Santana's top and raised both hands to cup Santana's face, smoothing her hands over the skin there before pulling Santana down onto her and placing light kisses over tanned cheeks.

"We've been through this," her tone was teetering between matter-of-fact and seductive and Santana was incredibly turned on by it, "…you were a bitch, I was a bitch, we _both_ deserved it, but," she kissed Santana's lips painfully slowly before continuing, "…that wasn't the only thing that was memorable about our little reunion."

"What else." Santana knew where this conversation was going to lead, regardless of what Quinn said and she felt her breathing quicken and grow shallow in response.

"Well this," she looked Santana in the eyes as she ran her hands down her back and let them lightly squeeze her firm ass, "…_this_ was particularly memorable. I approved of _all_ of your clothing choices over those few days."

Santana found herself rolling her hips down into Quinn under her touch, causing her to gasp at the action.

"I mean, honestly, I would have had to be blind these past couple of years _not_ to notice how incredible this body is," she brought her hands up higher again, sliding them under Santana's top and slipping it off slowly, smiling at the sight of Santana's exposed breasts only inches away from her face "…but I found myself wanting to be closer to you. I wanted to know what it would feel like to _really_ touch you."

Quinn's hands moved slowly back up over Santana's toned abs before caressing her breasts and grazing hardened nipples with her thumbs. Drawing a gasp from her, Quinn placed her hands flat on Santana's back, encouraging her closer. Slipping down the bed slightly she took one of Santana's nipples into her mouth, rolling her tongue around it slowly and smirking against smooth skin at the reaction she received.

Santana found herself grinding down against Quinn to try and ease the pulsating she felt with each new touch.

"I had no idea that it was possible to get so wet from just _thinking_ about touching someone." Quinn rocked her hips upward, meeting Santana's motions, causing them both to moan in response.

"Fuck, Quinn. What are you doing to me?" Santana breathed the words against Quinn's lips before kissing her deeply, her tongue flicking teasingly against warm lips before delving inside.

Quinn whimpered, matching Santana's movements with her own tongue and continuing to grind up into her. "Whatever you want," she gasped, "…I'll do whatever you want."

Santana felt her eyebrows knit together, her eyes closing automatically as she moved from her position, nudging Quinn's legs apart and coming to settle between them. Quinn's hands moved lower and she slid them into the waistband of Santana's bed shorts, pushing them down slowly.

"Uh, oh God, I want you to fu-"

Santana was suddenly interrupted by the sound of Rachel clearing her throat, as her heavy footsteps made their way closer to their section of the loft. Quinn's eyes shot open, the alarm mirrored by Santana as the two held their breath listening carefully.

Hearing the tap turn on and water running in the sink, Santana breathed a sigh of relief, sinking back into Quinn and feeling the woman's heart thudding against her chest.

As the tap was switched off and the padding of footsteps faded once again, Santana rolled off Quinn and onto her side, still holding her close.

"Fucking Berry." She whispered.

"You better not be." Quinn teased, receiving a horrified look from Santana.

"You have a warped sense of humour, that's _so_ not funny." Santana flopped onto her back and felt Quinn's hand begin to explore her body once more. As a pale hand moved towards her chest she slapped it away playfully.

"Ah-ah, not now, we can't." Santana was met with an adorable pout from Quinn and tilted her head up to kiss her.

"Sorry. You _know_ I want to, but she'll be getting up soon, she's probably lying awake in there as we speak, you really need to get back over to Kurt's side." Santana made to reach down the side of the bed for her top, but was stopped by Quinn pulling their bodies together again.

Leaning close to her ear, Quinn whispered in low tones as she stroked a hand up and down Santana's back.

"Well, just so you know, I'm going to be over there in Kurt's bed thinking _very_ hard about what I just missed out on." With that she felt Quinn move her hand from her back and run it down between their bodies, stopping to toy with the waist band of Santana's shorts.

"Quinn, we can't…" She was stopped as Quinn pulled on the elastic, causing it to snap back loudly against her skin and, instead, she slipped her hand inside her own pants, looking at Santana, eyes hooded.

Santana gasped, looking down at Quinn's hand moving lower. "Quinn…" she meant to scold her again, but felt herself pooling as Quinn began rolling her hips down into her own hand, "…uh, so hot." Santana was torn between wanting to watch Quinn touch herself, and wanting to take over completely. When Quinn's brow furrowed and the pace of her breathing quickened, Santana reached down, running her hand along Quinn's arm. Stopping just above the fabric, Santana looked into her eyes before gripping Quinn's wrist and removing her hand slowly.

Met with a gasp which was somewhere between pleasure and frustration, Quinn's eyebrows knitted together once more as Santana rolled her onto the bed and positioned herself between her legs. Still holding Quinn's wrist, she brought Quinn's fingers to her mouth and licked them slowly as she began rocking against her.

"Uh..Santana…I need you…" Quinn didn't finish her sentence, instead grabbing onto Santana's wrist, she forced it down between her legs. Santana slipped her hand into Quinn's pants and marvelled at just how wet she was.

Slipping two fingers easily inside of her, Santana continued to move against her, thrusting deeper. Aching to be touched herself, Santana maintained her rhythm and leant down to kiss Quinn in an effort to quell the gasping breaths which were becoming louder.

As she felt Quinn's walls tighten around her fingers she ran her thumb over her clit lightly. She was about to make another pass at it when she heard the shuffling of feet once again and could hear Rachel moving around the loft. She felt her cheeks flush instantly, arousal, fear and pending embarrassment mixing together, and she began to slowly withdraw her fingers from inside Quinn.

She looked down at her as she felt Quinn grip her wrist, stilling her movements with one hand while the other came up to the back of Santana's neck, pulling her down towards her.

"Don't you _dare_ stop now." Quinn whispered heatedly in her ear, pushing Santana's fingers deep inside her once again and grinding herself down into them.

Santana swiped her thumb over Quinn's clit once, twice, three times and she felt her arch violently off the bed. Quickly pressing her free hand against Quinn's mouth, she struggled to stifle her moaning as she rode Santana's fingers until the end.

Kissing her deeply as she continued to writhe beneath her, Santana slowly removed her fingers before licking them clean. This drew yet another moan from Quinn as she lay spent.

"Right then," she whispered against Quinn's lips, "…now just how do you plan on getting past Rachel and into Kurt's bed so it at least _looks_ like you've slept in it? Do they teach apparation at Yale now?" Santana teased her, raising her eyebrows in mock challenge.

"Watch me." Quinn raised her own eyebrows in response and rolled them over before getting off the bed. Straightening her tank top and pyjama bottoms, she rounded the bed and picked up Santana's top, handing it to her.

"Follow me." As Santana pulled on her top, she felt Quinn tugging on her arm and nearly lost her balance. "We're going to sneak out towards the fridge, okay?"

"But Quinn, she's right out there, she'll see us. That's _if_ she didn't already hear your muffled screams." Santana smirked, too pleased with herself, and taken with the woman in front of her, to be too concerned about Rachel knowing anything at this point.

Quinn turned around and pulled her in for a passionate kiss which, after their most recent tryst, left her feeling weak at the knees. "Just follow my lead."

Santana gave her another quick peck, shrugging her shoulders as she turned Quinn around and pushed her forwards. Walking into the main living space, Quinn began sneaking towards the fridge and Santana, feeling a little foolish, pretended to sneak along behind her.

"Quinn? Santana? What are you two doing?" Rachel turned her head from her position on the couch.

"Shit Rachel," Quinn placed a hand dramatically to her chest and Santana had to smother a giggle at her terrible acting skills, "…we were trying to be quiet, we didn't want to wake you."

"Have you two been up long?" Rachel seemed oblivious to Quinn's forced tone and implausibly innocent façade.

"Oh, I've been awake for a while actually and I accidently woke Santana with all of my fussing about out here. I'm sure you can just imagine the reception I got." Quinn rolled her eyes and gestured towards Santana who had still not said a word.

"Yeah, well," she joined in, "…just think yourself lucky that you didn't earn yourself another slap." Santana couldn't prevent the glimmer in her eyes as she raised the _sensitive_ topic.

"Now listen Santana, there'll be none of that. You invited Quinn to stay with us, you need to stop being your usual self for five minutes and make her feel welcome so she doesn't regret making the trip." Rachel moved from the couch and headed to the kitchen area, fussing about with the coffee pot and filling the kettle to boil.

"Right, I'll make us all some breakfast, you two can go and sit down. Santana doesn't need another incident with the stove." Quinn raised her eyebrows at Santana who simply shook her head before addressing Rachel.

"So I let a pot of water boil dry, so what. At least I didn't nearly burn then place down cooking meat for my boyfriend, Berry." Santana and Rachel shared a glare before Quinn dragged Santana away and the two collapsed onto the couch.

"Just so you know," Quinn whispered surreptitiously, "…I regret nothing."

Santana looked up into her eyes and couldn't help the shy smile which formed on her lips as her heart began to thud against her chest.

Sneaking a hand down between them, she gripped onto Quinn's. Their legs, which were raised and resting against the edge of the coffee table, hid the gesture from Rachel's line of sight.

As their eyes met again, Santana squeezed Quinn's hand in hers before replying.

"Neither do I. Not one thing."

Seeing a flush form against Quinn's pale cheeks she fought the urge to lean in and kiss her. As Quinn squeezed her hand in response she felt a comfortable warmth settle across her chest. Intertwining their fingers, she sighed audibly as she felt Quinn's thumb brush intentionally along the side of her hand.

While Rachel fussed about in the kitchen area, the two sat silently side by side and Santana wondered if Quinn was wondering the same thing that she was.

_Can we just stop time to let this happen?_

* * *

**I have lots of plans for these two :)**

**Can't wait to share them all with you!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks again for all the follows/faves and reviews everyone. It's awesome!**

* * *

**LOSING COUNT – PART V**

After a well cooked vegan breakfast, the three readied themselves and headed out together. Rachel insisted that Quinn's time would be her own, only after she'd been able to show off a couple of her favourite haunts. Santana found herself content to follow along with Rachel's plans, as long as it meant time with Quinn. In a change from her usual, and oddly alluring, style of baby doll dresses and cardigans, Santana admired the way Quinn's black skinny jeans hugged her in all the right places. She was wearing a low cut, light blue top under her black and white checked shirt and as Santana eyed the press studs she couldn't help but think she'd like to rip that shirt right off later.

Their first stop was the Bushwick Coffee House on Wilson Avenue which, Rachel claimed, made the best soy lattes ever. She had raved for the entire walk about how she stumbled upon it one day and, ever since, she had felt like her day was incomplete without a visit to the quaint, warehouse like establishment.

Over coffee Rachel, unsurprisingly, dominated the conversation, grilling Quinn enthusiastically about every aspect of Yale life. Santana sat back and watched the interaction with a satisfied smile on her face, enjoying hearing about Quinn's classes and routines and picturing her striding through campus in the same way she had the halls of McKinley.

Lattes turned into an early lunch and Rachel ordered for all three of them before excusing herself and heading for the bathroom. Both Quinn and Santana looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief at finally being alone, eyes locked for a long moment.

"You're _unusually_ quiet. There hasn't even been a single quip about Rachel in at least an hour." Quinn smiled teasingly and reached over the armrest of the antique sofa she had been sharing with Rachel. As she ran her hand down Santana's arm, resting on the edge of her wooden rocking chair, Santana smiled back and stretched out her arm exposing more skin available to be touched.

"Well it's challenging to get a word in edge wise with Berry rambling the way she does. Plus, I'm actually just enjoying listening…and admiring." She raised her eyebrows suggestively and smiled at the coy blush which overtook Quinn's cheeks. Taking advantage of Santana's arm resting closer to her, she trailed her fingers up to the tanned skin at the pit of her elbow before running it back down again.

"Don't get me wrong, it's great catching up with Rachel, but I'd really like to be able to just spend the day with you." Quinn squeezed Santana's hand before removing it, eyes darting around the space cautiously.

Santana leant her chin on her hand, her elbow propped up on the wooden armrest and nodded her head slowly in agreement. "Me too. Maybe tomorrow? What time do you have to leave?"

Quinn let out a short laugh. "I haven't even checked the bus timetable. As late as possible." The two locked eyes and Santana felt her pulse speed up. Rachel would be back any minute but if she just leant over a little further maybe she'd be able to kis-

"Okay, which one of you lovely ladies ordered the soup?" Santana's thoughts were interrupted by the waitress who was managing to skilfully balance their three meals and a second drink for Rachel. She had seemed to appear out of nowhere. Santana let out a slightly exaggerated puff of air and saw Quinn stifle a giggle behind her hand as Rachel sat back down and claimed the soup for herself.

Santana was grateful that their food brought with it a short spell of silence as they ate. Turning her head to glance at Quinn from time to time, she smiled when they caught each other's gaze, feeling a rush each time Rachel remained unaware.

As a kind gesture, to disprove Rachel's earlier theories that she was being her usual, bitchy self, Santana offered to pay for lunch. Making her way to the counter, Quinn and Rachel passed her to wait outside, but Quinn turned her head upon reaching the doorway and offered up another secretive smile.

"You're onto a sure thing there sweetie." The waitress from earlier smiled as she addressed Santana, who felt herself blush instantly under the older woman's gaze.

"I'm sorry?" Santana shook her head, feigning confusion as she pulled her credit card from her purse and offered it to the woman.

"The cute blonde." Her gaze flickered towards the door. "She hasn't been able to keep her eyes off you since you arrived."

Santana opened her mouth to speak, but found she didn't have one thing to say in response. She was almost ashamed that she couldn't respond with a smart retort to put the woman in her place. She frowned at herself and, as she swiped her card through the machine, she chanced a quick glance out the window.

Handing Santana the bill to sign, she smiled knowingly at her again. "Don't worry, your other friend seems pretty clueless. But I will say, I think that soup arrived just in time earlier, don't you."

Santana looked up to see the waitress staring back at her, eyebrows raised, with a wide smile across her face. Santana let out a nervous chuckle, but this time she couldn't help but return a grin.

"Yeah. I guess you're right. Thank you for that." She offered the woman a shy wave as she tucked a copy of the bill into her purse and threw it back into her bag.

* * *

Quinn was positioned between Santana and Rachel as they walked back to the loft. The early afternoon breeze was calming, rather than chilling and Santana's left side felt warm as her arm brushed against Quinn's every few steps.

After their lunch, Rachel had walked them a few blocks to a gallery she'd wanted to take Santana to since she had moved. On several occasions Santana felt the back of her hand graze Quinn's and she had to fight the urge to take hold of it. As they approached the entrance of the gallery she felt it happen again and couldn't help the heat which rushed to her cheeks as she stole a look at Quinn, who winked at her before walking ahead.

Santana thought the gallery itself was very similar in size and layout to the loft she now shared with Kurt and Rachel. The open planned space had been painted white, over brick, and all of the gallery's fixtures were white as well. While there were several paintings framed and hung, most of the art on display was mixed or multi-media. Santana noticed a video being screened onto the floor via a small projector, which was positioned on a white stand only a few inches off the ground. Underneath the stand, the flooring appeared to be covered in newsprint laminate and in front of the projector, either side, there were two black 'holes' in the print, shaped like feet.

Having only seen the last few seconds of the video, Santana waited for it to loop back to the start. The instructions on the screen explained that viewers should stand with their feet covering the footprint gaps. Santana did so, looking around her to see if anyone was watching her as she essentially straddled the projector, not the best look while wearing a short, tight dress. Catching Quinn's eye, she quirked an eyebrow and shrugged her shoulders before looking back down.

The video was now being projected directly between her feet and the footage was of a person cutting their toenails on a floor which was also covered in newsprint. Santana cringed at the aggressive use of the clippers and felt a cold chill up her spine as the person appeared to miss their nail and cut into their skin. Too intrigued to look away, Santana squinted at the image forming in the blood, gasping audibly when it eventually took the form of a woman crying.

"Incredible, isn't it." Rachel was shaking her head side to side in awe as Santana moved from in front of the projector. She looked around at the other gallery visitors again and willed Rachel not to start clapping or gushing or making any kind of spectacle.

"I'd go as far as _interesting_. So far, the shit I've seen around here is a little creepy Rachel." Santana looked back at the projected image again and shuddered slightly as the video had looped and was beginning to play again.

Feeling a tug on her hand, Santana was thrown off balance and her head whipped around to see Quinn pulling her in the opposite direction.

"What-"

Quinn cut her off. "I want to show you something." Santana felt her stomach flip at the look in Quinn's eye and the smile which showed off those amazing cheek bones. Santana couldn't shake the feeling of how incredibly gorgeous Quinn looked when she really smiled.

Coming to stop in front of a chest high display cabinet, Quinn looked across at Rachel before squeezing Santana's hand lightly. Her back was to them as she appeared completely engrossed in another multi-media display, which was being projected off mirrors and made her look like she was watching a miniature tennis match. The two shared a glance, both breathing out a small laugh before turning their attention back to the cabinet. Santana looked closely as several butterflies appeared to be suspended, in mid-air, above a glass jar. The jar's hinged lid was wide open and it looked as though this action had allowed the butterflies to escape. Inside the glass jar was a much smaller jar, identical to the first. Inside this one was a butterfly, of equal size to the rest, which appeared to only just fit. The lid of the smaller jar was closed and the butterfly was angled at 45 degrees, exactly the same as the other ones.

She looked at Quinn questioningly, wanting to know why she had been so eager for her to see it. Sure, it was fascinating and quite beautiful to look at, but in terms of the meaning behind it, she felt people could draw many different conclusions. She wanted to know exactly what Quinn felt when she looked inside that cabinet.

Pointing with her other hand as she smoothed her thumb over Santana's knuckles between them, she drew her attention to the smaller jar.

"That used to be us." She spoke quietly. "That was you and me a couple of years ago. Both of us were stuck inside a life we didn't want and, at the same time, we were completely exposed. Everyone could see everything we were going through and all we wanted to do was hide. I think, looking back, the times we fought the most were the times we had the most in common."

Santana felt her throat tighten, and the hairs on her arms stand up, at Quinn's words. She could hear the sadness in her voice. Checking to see that Rachel was still sufficiently distracted, Santana brought her other hand over their conjoined hands and encouraged the woman closer to her. Unsure of exactly how to respond, she sighed, hoping that her proximity could convey the things she had no words to say. _So many things._

"That's a little dark, I know, but I think it's kind of true," her voice, which had been barely above a whisper now brightened slightly as she pointed towards the cabinet, "…but now, I think we're here. Both of us have come so far Santana."

"I agree, but you're wrong about this being us now." Santana moved the hand which was covering the two between them. "If this is us, then we're still trapped. I know this cabinet thingy might not be part of the piece, but if you look at it, they're still all trapped. If we go outside and you show me a butterfly that's not inside a jar or a cabinet or a weird little gallery, that's us Q. Both of us are following our dreams now and when I was in there," she pointed to the lone butterfly in the smaller jar, "I didn't even dare to dream, because the thought that those dreams may not come true, well…nothing felt worse than that thought."

She stared at the glass cabinet for a long moment before she felt Quinn shaking their conjoined hands, breaking her from her daydream.

"Well, either way, we're not in there now Santana and, you know what? It doesn't matter whether we ever were because this," she flipped her hand at the cabinet before lowering her voice and turning in to Santana, "…was all just an elaborate excuse to hold your hand."

Santana bit her lip in an effort to try and suppress the goofy smile she knew was taking over her face and as Rachel turned towards them she let their hands drop, reluctantly, but shoved Quinn playfully.

"Smooth Fabray, very smooth." She smirked as Rachel shook her head disapprovingly and glanced warily around the gallery before motioning dramatically, with a flip of her hand, towards the exit.

* * *

The girls arrived home to find Kurt rushing from one side of the loft to the other, his face ashen and hands shaking as he fumbled with clean shirts from the hamper which rested on the kitchen bench. The three exchanged a concerned glance and Kurt didn't even acknowledge their presence as he rushed into his area. Putting down her bag and keys on the side table by the door, Rachel walked cautiously towards Kurt's space. The two nearly collided as Kurt came out wheeling a suitcase and texting on his phone.

"Rachel!" Kurt's phone dropped to the ground as he gasped and Rachel bent down first, picking it up and handing it back to him.

"Kurt, what's going on? Where are you going?" Her voice was gentle as she gestured towards the suitcase, deep concern evident on her face.

Kurt took a deep breath. "It's Dad he-"

"Oh no Kurt!" Rachel interrupted him as Quinn and Santana exclaimed the word "What?" in unison.

Gripping his phone, he put a hand out to Rachel as if to calm her down. "No, it's okay, Dad's okay. He rang to say Carole is in the hospital," Rachel let out a gasp as Quinn and Santana shared a look of concern, "…she's kind of been sick for a while, long story, not sick, sick. She's had like a chest infection that she just couldn't shake so the doctor prescribed a different antibiotic and she had an anaphylactic reaction. Dad was really shaken by it, he was with her when it happened, thankfully. I think she's okay and everything, but I'm worried about him too and now Carole's going to have to go through a bunch of tests to work out what exactly caused the reaction. My flight leaves in a little over an hour." Kurt exhaled and looked at Rachel, offering a tight lipped smile. "I just need to be there with him, you know?"

Rachel nodded, wrapping Kurt up in a tight embrace and Santana heard him sniffling into her shoulder.

"Do you want me to come with you? If I phoned right away I might be able to get on the same flight. I-" Rachel reached for Kurt's phone, but he gently placed a hand on her arm stopping her.

"Thank you. I really appreciate it. I do, but I'll be fine. It's them I'm worried about. Finn's still home at the moment and Blaine has been into the hospital as well. It'll be okay. I'll be fine once I'm there."

Rachel nodded slowly. "Okay, well have you got everything you need, have you collected all of your toiletries from your room and the bathroom-"

"Oh, Rachel," Kurt pulled her into a quick hug again, "…what would I do without you? I can't believe I nearly forgot my moisturising lotions, my hair product, my…"

Kurt looked at his watch. "Quick, I need to hurry!"

The two darted off to the bathroom and Quinn and Santana walked over to the couch. Quinn pulled a large cushion into her lap as she sat down facing Santana. Moving closer, Santana turned her body so they were looking directly at each other and she fiddled around under the cushion until she found Quinn's hand. Quinn sighed, leaning her head to rest it against the back of the couch. Santana laced their fingers together under the cushion, playing with Quinn's as she spoke in a hushed tone.

"It's weird, there are these huge pockets of time where I don't even _think_ about home. I mean, in Kentucky I was always so busy. I literally had _no_ time to think and since I've been here," she let her fingers wander to the inside of Quinn's wrist and along her arm as far as the cushion was covering them, "…well, honestly, my head's been in New Haven more than it's been in Lima these past few weeks." Santana looked up from her lap to see Quinn gazing at her with an inquisitive smile. She felt a familiar warmth spread from her hand to her cheeks before settling in her chest as Quinn linked their fingers again beneath the cushion.

"Mine's been here since you have."

Santana sighed, letting her eyes close for a moment. As she gazed slowly back up towards Quinn, she noticed a changed expression on the woman's face. Shaking their conjoined hands lightly, she spoke quietly.

"What is it Q?" Her own brow furrowed and she felt her heart beginning to thud inside her chest. It was an automatic reaction for her to expect the worst.

"I was just thinking," she paused, taking a deep breath and biting down on her lower lip as she exhaled, "…at the wedding, we were both drinking and, things kind of escalated pretty quickly…" she spoke in a hushed tone and let the words hang in the air. Santana felt embarrassed by the small lump of concern which had formed at the base of her throat.

"What are you trying to say Quinn?" She whispered, swallowing thickly and she was unsure if the squeeze from Quinn's hand, which followed, was meant to be one of reassurance or apology.

"I just…I-I really need you to know that I _knew_ what we were doing. I mean I knew what _I _was doing. We'd been drinking, but I wasn't drunk and having you touch me was the most _sobering_ experience…I just don't want you to think that it was just some alcohol fuelled," she paused, running her fingers through her hair, "...I don't know what I'm trying to say Santana. I wanted to be with you before the reception, before the church even. I think I wanted to be with you even before Kurt called us to here for the Rachel intervention. For me it was just about you. Nothing else and I guess I've just been wondering if it was the same for you."

Quinn breathed out slowly, cheeks flushed, and Santana could feel her palm sweating slightly under her touch.

"So are you asking if, _for me_, it was just about _you_ and nobody else?" Santana relaxed, content at finally hearing how Quinn was feeling and she felt confident that she also understood the underlying question behind Quinn's words.

Quinn looked her in the eye and nodded reservedly, an almost pained expression crossing her features. Santana titled her head to the side, trying to recapture Quinn's gaze as it swept downward. Reaching her free hand towards Quinn's face, she tiled her chin up slightly. "Are you asking me if us being together had something to do with Brittany?" Santana felt a small smile playing on her lips the slightly flabbergasted look on Quinn's face.

"Oh God," Quinn exhaled with both relief and surprise, "…so we _can_ say her name, I was beginning to feel as though she was like Voldemort or something." Quinn ran a hand through her hair again, seeming both tense and relieved at once and Santana couldn't help but laugh.

Leaning over, she looked past Quinn's shoulder to where the bathroom door was still closed and ran her hand along Quinn's jaw before kissing her lightly. Quinn's eyes remained closed as she pulled away just enough to whisper in her ear. "It had _nothing_ to do with her and _everything_ to do with _you_."

As Santana pulled back to sit up properly, Quinn launched herself at her and crashed their lips together. "Really?" She asked as she sat back, breathing deeply.

Santana nodded. "Really."

Quinn scooted herself even closer to Santana on the couch and allowed her finger tips to lightly trail over the exposed flesh of Santana's knees and thighs as she sat with her legs tucked up beside her.

Leaning in again, Quinn whispered in a low voice which sent a pleasant shiver right through Santana.

"I'm sorry that Kurt has to leave the way he does, but we need to get rid of Rachel because," she slipped her fingers under the hem of Santana's short dress and licked her lower lip causing Santana's stomach to flip, "…I need _you_ all to myself tonight."

Santana gasped as Quinn reached even higher and she leant her head against the back of the couch as her eyes closed involuntarily.

Hearing the bathroom door creak open, Santana sat up quickly and startled Quinn who responded with a gasp. Glancing towards the door, she locked eyes with Kurt and he quirked a half smile in her direction, raising his eyebrows questioningly. Looking past him, Santana could see Rachel still fiddling with the cabinet and breathed a sigh of relief that, at least for the moment, she was still clueless.

* * *

**A/N: Didn't know if I wanted to bring the 'B' word into this, but I guess it had to be done eventually.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A huge thank you to everyone who has taken the time to follow/favourite and review, I love writing these two and your support is very encouraging.**

**I'm thinking of transitioning out 'A Two Time Thing' from the title and just keeping it as 'Losing Count' - just a heads up for the next couple of chapter updates - don't get confused and ignore your alerts :)**

* * *

**LOSING COUNT - Part VI**

Santana spent the better part of her afternoon napping after Kurt finally left to catch his plane. It took no time at all for her to drift off as she relaxed onto her bed, feeling content that she and Quinn had reached some kind of conclusion about where they were at. They still hadn't named it up exactly, but Santana was now confident that they were both at the same place and felt comfortable to be honest with each other. That was enough for now.

As Santana stirred slowly back into consciousness, the generous daylight invading her pupils once again, she swiped a hand across her face and burried herself under the covers. Just as her eyes began to close again she felt the bed dip behind her and smirked, having a strong suspicion as to who it would be.

Rolling over and peeking out from underneath the covers, Santana squinted and smiled at the beaming face of Quinn staring back at her as she blocked out some of the blinding light. Kicking off her shoes, Quinn crawled under the covers and felt around with cold hands causing Santana to flinch slightly at the unexpected sensation.

"Hey, warm your paws before you get sneaky next time." Santana chastised sleepily, but couldn't maintain her pout when Quinn mirrored her look, hanging her head in mock despair.

Reaching her fingers out towards Quinn, Santana found the lapel of her shirt and wiggled her eyebrows at her before tugging lightly, smiling as she heard the press studs pop open.

"I've been wanting to do _that_, all day." Pulling her closer, Santana ran her hand over Quinn's body, skirting lightly around the curve of her breast before lacing her fingers into blonde hair. Leaning in closely she held Quinn's gaze for a moment and placed a tender kiss to her cheek before ghosting her mouth across smooth skin, headed for her lips.

Suddenly very aware of where they were, Santana's eyes widened in genuine horror as she dropped her hand from Quinn's neck and inched away from her on the mattress.

"Where the fuck is Rachel?" Santana hissed the words hurriedly as she glanced around her space furiously and checking that her curtain was still drawn all the way across.

Quinn threw her head back, laughing at the look on Santana's face. "Out." Rolling herself toward Santana, Quinn slipped one leg across her body and sat up straddling her.

"What do you mean out? Out where?" Santana found it impossible to maintain her snappy tone from moments before as Quinn lowered herself down towards her, whispering in her ear.

"She'll be back soon but right _now_, she's out." Quinn brought one hand up to caress Santana's cheek as she moved to place a soft, lingering kiss to her lips. "She's gone to get parsnip to have with dinner." Quinn kissed her again and Santana grinned against her lips, amused that she could make something like parsnip sound so appealing in her purring tone.

"So she's at the market then?" Head lolling back against the pillow, Santana's eyes closed of their own volition as Quinn kissed over her jaw line and down her neck.

"Yep." Quinn continued back up along her neck, pausing to flick her tongue against Santana's ear, causing her to hum in approval.

"Hmm...did she only just leave?" It was now a personal challenge for Santana to try and maintain their conversation while Quinn was making it her mission to try and distract her.

"Nah, been gone about half an hour, she should be back any mi-"

Hearing the sound of the large sliding door to the loft being pulled open, Quinn leant down and placed a final kiss to Santana's lips as she felt her eyes widen once again. She heard Rachel setting down paper bags on the kitchen counter and looked up to see Quinn smirking.

Taking a deep breath as she rolled off Santana and out of the bed, she picked up her shoes and walked towards the curtain, grabbing it before turning around to face Santana.

"Just get up would you," her voice, raised for effect, took on a mildly annoyed tone, but her expression told Santana she was anything but, "…you need to have a shower and get ready so we can all go out." With that, Quinn blew Santana a kiss and winked at her before pulling back the curtain completely and striding out into the main space.

* * *

Adam checked his phone for possibly the tenth time as he sat opposite Santana at the small dining table in the kitchen area of the loft. Rachel was fussing about trying to complete her roast vegetable stacks and Santana offered a sympathetic smile as he slid the phone reluctantly back into his pocket and looked over at her.

It had been around two hours since Kurt had arrived back in Lima and, besides a simple text to Rachel saying 'Here', they hadn't received any word from him. Apparently Adam had spoken to him while he was waiting to board at the airport, but she actually felt sorry for the guy as his face fell every time he checked his messages.

Rachel had gone way over the top reassuring Adam that it wasn't a reflection on their relationship, but rather a reflection of Kurt's emotional state. Santana was quietly concerned that the lack of communication was due to Kurt being blinded by a distracting _reflection_ of light off Blaine's hair gel.

As Quinn took a seat beside her, Santana felt suddenly consumed by the distinct scent of her perfume and the heat which radiated from her skin as it brushed against her own. Chancing a sideways glance, she felt the corner of her mouth curl up into a half-grin which she tried to supress, hesitating before she tore her gaze away from Quinn and looked back at Adam.

"So," Santana paused feeling it would be out of character for her to call the man by name, "...Jude Law…what's the plan for this evening then?"

Santana felt satisfied as Adam visibly relaxed, smiling at the nickname. Rachel delivered their plates, two at a time, to the table and sat down next to him as he responded.

"Well, the original plan was to meet up with some of the Apples at Callbacks after dinner, maybe do a couple of numbers and then head out out."

"Out out?" Santana quirked an eyebrow, adding to the mocking tone she had used and received a backhanded slap on the shoulder from Quinn. Taking in a long, deep breath she let out a frustrated sigh which she hoped Quinn would read as a whole other type of frustration. Angling her lower body slightly, she let her knees rest against Quinn's thigh and pressed her lips together to suppress the smile which threatened to overtake her as she heard a low, sharp intake of breath beside her.

"Could you please explain out out, Mr Carson?" Santana pushed her plate aside slightly and clasped her hands together on the table, leaning in closer to him, feigning intrigue.

"Well, it's quite simple really. If you go _out_, that's to dinner or to a club or pub. It's like a one venue evening with a specific agenda and a reasonably sensible finishing time. Out out is where you go if you plan on a second destination after the first. It can be a series of locations really, but generally the idea is to get very messy and roll on home somewhere nearer to daylight." He finished his explanation with a matter-of-fact nod and a bite of his dinner.

Santana closed her eyes and shook her head as if in disbelief, "Right then". Grabbing her plate, she pulled it closer as she picked up her cutlery and began eating.

"But the two of you don't have to come if you'd rather occupy yourselves differently." Adam's tone was casual as he gestured with his fork to her and Quinn, but Santana couldn't help the deer-in-headlights look as her eyes shot up to where he sat across the table.

"What do you mean?" Santana rushed, roast capsicum and eggplant hanging limply on her forgotten fork. She narrowed her eyes at Adam's obvious smirk before he physically wiped it from his face, leaning on his hand as he spoke.

"I _mean_," he emphasised, "…most of the crowd we'll be spending time with are NYADA people. Besides Sara," he paused looking from Quinn to Santana and back again, another smirk appearing as Quinn shifted uncomfortably in her seat, "…you probably won't know anybody and I just didn't want you to feel as though you have to follow our lead tonight. Rachel and I wouldn't be offended if you wanted to show Quinn around _yourself_ Santana."

"So it _is_ Sara! I knew it!" Rachel exclaimed, slamming her fork down on her plate and causing everyone to wince at the shrill sound.

Shooting a frown in Quinn's direction, which was supposed to say _I have no idea what she's talking about_, Santana noticed her jaw was clenched and her eyes vacant as she looked back at her with a tight lipped smile.

Slouching on her chair, feeling slightly defeated by Quinn's doubting gaze, Santana turned her attention to Rachel.

"_What_ is Sara?" She spat the words out at her roommate in complete disgust. "What is it that you _think_ you know?"

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Adam lower his head, concentrating on his dinner, pretending not to notice the sudden tension in the room. Adam always kept well clear of the bickering in the loft and only ever offered up very passive passing comments if he felt the need.

"Well Santana, it's obvious you're seeing _someone_. I asked Kurt again if he wanted one of us to go with him earlier and I suggested _you_, saying it's not as though you have anything keeping you here at the moment and he had the nerve to tell me that perhaps you _do_ have something going on, but then wouldn't elaborate. Why you'd tell him and not me is beyond me." Her voice trailed off as if she were now talking to herself only. Making direct eye contact with Santana, she continued. "Anyway it would certainly explain your moping, your new phone obsession and your insane self-flagellating workout routines." Rachel stopped to draw breath.

"New phone obsession, eh?" Quinn muttered partly under her breath, causing Santana to give her a light shove.

"Shut up." Santana rolled her eyes feeling heat spread over her cheeks and hoping the other three were clueless about her embarrassment.

"It's _not_ Sara, okay. I told you," she looked from Rachel to Quinn, "…and you, that I had no interest in her besides someone to chat to when I'm out with all of you NYADA losers." Santana cringed internally, aware she sounded every bit the bitchy, high school cheerleader she'd tried to leave behind several months ago.

"But there _is_ someone, isn't there Santana? Quinn, she's told you, right? You must know all about it. You're the only other person she texts besides the one who makes her grin like a fool and snap at us when we interrupt her night-long reply time."

Quinn let out a snort of laughter and Santana hissed at her again. "Shut. Up."

Putting her hands up defensively, Quinn appeared to be finding it difficult to wipe the grin from her face but, looking into her eyes, Santana's mood softened slightly as she saw sincerity there. "Sorry San, I'm sorry. I shouldn't tease you like that."

Smiling automatically at her words, Santana sighed and took a mouthful of food before responding to Rachel.

"So what if there _is_ someone? What's it to _you_ Berry. Wasn't it _you_ who suggested we stay out of each other's relationships?" Santana instantly regretted her tone upon seeing the slight expression of hurt which crossed Rachel's face. Sure they had their ups and downs, but the two had become much closer since the pregnancy debacle and the nonsense with Brody the man-whore.

"Of course. Who you see is entirely your business Santana, but I suppose I'm just a little bit put out that you would tell Kurt and not me." Rachel finished her dinner, dabbing at her mouth with her napkin which she threw onto her plate as she pushed it away from her on the table.

"Rachel," Santana thought for a moment of the best response she could give under the circumstances, "…Kurt wasn't told, he found out entirely by accident. He saw the two of us together and obviously made an assumption. Everything is still very new and I'd just like to keep it...private, for the time being." Santana's voice had lowered significantly and she could feel Quinn's eyes on her, but clenched her jaw, making every effort not to look in her direction.

"Just tell her Santana." Quinn's voice was low and she felt her heart rate pick up in sheer panic. Seeing the look in Santana's eyes, Quinn's expression changed completely and Santana was relieved to see Quinn switch quickly into HBIC mode.

"Her name's Emily. Stark. Emily Stark is the cause of all this." Quinn flipped her hand toward her as though she was bored by the whole concept and Santana couldn't help but smile at her, relieved by the compromise and impressed that Quinn was crediting herself as being the full cause of her stupor. "She's the one she's been having at least a text-based relationship with for a month or so."

Santana let out a false sigh of frustration and turned to Quinn, eyes contradicting her tone as she muttered, "Thanks very much Q."

"Emily. That's a nice name Santana." Rachel started. "Can you _please_ just tell us a little bit about her though? What does she look like? How did the two of you meet? Have you kissed her?" Rachel's jaw dropped as the most obvious question seemed to occur to her all at once and, oddly, she whispered it. "Have you _slept_ with her?"

"Whoa there Berry," Santana put up both hands as she felt her face flush again, "…telling you even _one_ of those things is breaching the whole privacy act."

"Come on Santana, tell us _something_ at least." Rachel leant herself towards the table, hands clasped together, practically begging for anything at all.

"Can't hurt to tell us how you met can it?" Adam's contribution was coupled with another smirk which both intrigued and disturbed Santana. She narrowed her eyes at the man once more.

"Yeah San, surely you could tell us just a little bit about her." Quinn purred and Santana felt the words run straight through her, blushing at her tone and hoping desperately that the other two had not heard her in the same way. Santana felt Quinn shifting closer to her under the table, their legs touching again. Quinn purposely shifted the material of her dress now and Santana felt a wave of heat overtake her as the bare skin of Quinn's thigh moved subtly against her own.

"Fine." Santana downed her glass of wine in one gulp, trying desperately to distract from the movement underneath the table. "I'll answer Berry's questions and that's it." Taking a deep breath, she tried to compose herself, feeling her pulse rate quicken again as Quinn's hand shifted from its place in her own lap and found its way onto Santana's exposed thigh.

"Emily is...stunning." Santana cleared her throat, feeling her voice waver as Quinn traced small circles against her skin.

"Describe her." Santana frowned slightly at Rachel's request and leant an elbow on the table, running her fingers through her hair as she considered her words.

"Sh'e gorgeous. She has blonde hair and perfect porcelain skin and..." she hesitated, feeling self-conscious about saying the words which were in her head, especially in front of Quinn, "...if I'd seen a picture of her in black and white I'd have assumed she was a famous actress from the 30s or 40s or something." Santana sat forward on her chair, feeling her legs part slightly on instinct under Quinn's touch. She leant on the table and spread her elbows wide to try and obscure any noticeable movement from Quinn's arm.

"We actually met at cheer camp at the beginning of Freshman year, but then bumped into each other again around Thanksgiving, after not having seen each other in a while." Feeling Quinn's fingers slip under the hem of her dress Santana's breath hitched in her throat and she faked a coughing fit to cover it up, grabbing a water glass and taking a few sips.

"And, FYI nosey bitches, the answer to the other questions are yes and _hell_ yes." Santana finished quickly and reached over the table for the bottle of wine. This gave Quinn the perfect opportunity to shift her fingers higher still and as she felt them graze the thin material between her thighs, she felt herself grip the neck of the bottle especially hard.

Pushing her chair out slowly she stood, reaching down with her spare hand to adjust her dress. Walking around behind Adam and Rachel, she leant against the counter and filled her glass again, taking another long sip. As she turned to look at Quinn, the other two now discussing her revelation among themselves, she felt pulse quicken and a quick wink from Quinn sent the pulsating to a new location.

* * *

At 9:30pm Rachel raced to the bathroom for a quick toilet stop before she and Adam headed out. About half an hour after dinner, Quinn had claimed she was feeling ill and, blaming the wine, retired to Kurt's bed.

Santana couldn't get a read on whether she was being genuine or not but, regardless, she had insisted on staying in with her. Changing into sweats and a tank top, Santana padded quietly through the loft in sock feet and ran the tap for a glass of water, side eyeing Adam who was watching her creepily.

"What are you staring at?" She folded her arms defensively across her chest and glared at him.

Moving closer to her, he lowered his voice, glancing past her as he spoke.

"I'm going to make sure Rachel has a good time and then I'm going to convince her to come and stay with me for the night. You two have the place all to yourself." Santana was met with the same smirk she had witnessed at the table and her eyes widened at his implication.

"What-"

Adam interrupted her protest. "It's fine Santana, I won't say anything to Rachel, Kurt just told me to make sure you two had some space and I'm pretty sure _Emily_ is feeling _just_ fine in there."

Santana felt her jaw drop, but had no time to respond in defence as Rachel strode out of the bathroom ready to go.

"I have a key Santana, so lock yourselves in and call me if Quinn needs anything, I'll try not to make any noise when I come home."

From behind her, Adam was shaking his head in large exaggerated motions and pointing to Rachel, then back at himself. Rachel turned her head towards him and he stopped immediately, smiling innocently at her. "Ready to go then?"

The two left a stunned Santana to pull the door closed behind them, locking it as she slowly made her way towards Kurt's quarters.

Grasping the curtain delicately in her hand, Santana moved it ever so slightly and peered in at Quinn who was propped up on pillows, playing with her phone.

"Feeling better then?" Santana ventured.

Quinn looked up at her, an infectious grin overtaking her face as she beckoned Santana with the motion of a single finger. "I am now they're gone."

Santana felt a pleasant chill up her spine upon hearing Quinn's voice. At least now she didn't need to fight to hide her reactions. Crawling over the covers, Santana lowered herself down on top of Quinn, their bodies separated by the comforter and two layers of clothing.

She reached up to stroke the back of her fingers down Quinn's cheek and smiled into a long, gentle kiss which warmed every inch of her body and caused her to curl into Quinn as best she could with the barriers between them.

"We have the _whole_ night." Santana smirked and leant down for another kiss. "Adam knows too and he's keeping Rachel away until tomorrow.

Quinn sighed against her lips and Santana could feel her pushing the comforter down between them with one hand, while the other was toying with the hem of Santana's tank top.

Moving to sit up, she placed both hands over Quinn's, stilling them. Shaking her head, she smiled and whispered in a low tone, "Come with me.

Santana offered her hand to Quinn, pulling her up off the bed and guided her out to the couch. Sitting, she pulled Quinn down on top of her so that her thighs were either side of Santana's.

"God I've missed this today." Santana's voice was husky as she spoke those words against the smooth skin of Quinn's neck. "I'm getting you out of here tomorrow before Rachel comes back. I don't feel like sharing anymore."

"You sure, I'm pretty sure Rachel would be keen for a piece of this." Quinn teased, pulling her t-shirt off over her head and revealing she had nothing on underneath.

"Fucking hell Fabray. Don't even joke about that." Santana pulled her in for a kiss as her hands began to roam over smooth skin. "Not. Sharing."

Pulling Quinn nearer to her, Santana took one of her nipples in her mouth, receiving a gasp in response. Sucking lightly, she then kissed her way back up her chest and ran her tongue along the side of Quinn's neck.

Quinn rolled her hips down into Santana and both women let out a soft moan at the sensation. Reaching around behind Quinn, she slipped her hands under the waist band of her trousers and started pushing down. "These come off _now_."

Leaning over Santana, Quinn kissed her, placing both hands on her shoulders as she moved to a half standing position. Flicking her tongue against Santana's top lip, she let it slip inside, caressing Santana's tongue with her own. Dropping one hand to Santana's wrist she picked it up and guided it to the band of her trousers before replacing her hand near Santana's neck. "What are you waiting for."

Santana felt the throbbing between her legs increase at those words and quickly slid Quinn's trousers off, discovering she wasn't wearing underwear.

"Fuck Quinn." Santana breathed the words as she looked over the incredible body which was being lowered back down on top of her.

Relaxed from the wine she'd had earlier and with a completely naked Quinn straddling her, Santana felt light headed. Quinn exacerbated this by slipping her hands under her top and running her fingers over abs which were more sensitive than ever before.

Santana let her own hands explore Quinn's increasingly familiar body, expecting each curve and ridge and muscle a moment before she felt it appear under her touch.

This was like nothing Santana had experienced before, the aching in her chest mirroring the aching in her centre as Quinn guided a tanned hand towards her own.

"I need you to touch me." Santana let out a ragged breath and thought, at this rate, she could come just from hearing Quinn talk. She sighed heavily as her fingers finally made contact, a satisfied smile on her face as it caused a low moan to emanate from Quinn.

Knowing that the full day's build up was more than enough, Santana moved her fingers through Quinn's wetness and entered her, wrapping her other hand around her back to bring their bodies even closer together.

"Fuck Santana." Quinn's body undulated against her in the most hypnotising rhythm and Santana rocked herself up against her in response. "Nobody else has _ever_ made me feel like this."

Quinn licked her lips, eyes closing as her muscles tightened against Santana. She cupped her chin, tilting it upward as she brought her lips down onto Santana's, kissing her slowly and passionately and letting her tongue brush against her repeatedly. Santana's body reacted and her rocking increased as she cursed herself for not removing her own clothes as well.

When Quinn's breathing turned into short panting breaths and she began rolling herself down into Santana hard, she picked up the pace of her thrusting and pressed her thumb lightly to Quinn's clit. Feeling her come undone as she moved on top of her, Quinn's cursing caused Santana to increase her rocking motion, thrusting her hips up into her and pushing her deeper inside.

As Quinn's muscles clenched around Santana's fingers, she felt her own orgasm rip through her, throwing her head back against the couch and letting out a mindless blend of Spanish and English that even she could make no sense of.

Eyes closed, she felt Quinn's movements turn to slow, subtle rocking as she came down and she sighed heavily as Quinn attached her lips to her exposed neck.

Slowly, she removed her fingers and wrapped both arms around Quinn, pulling her impossibly close, her head resting against her still heaving chest. There was an unfamiliar comfort in the way she could feel Quinn's heart beating against her and she closed her eyes, relishing in that feeling.

Hearing Quinn's breathing change again, she made to move away, but Quinn pulled her back in tightly. Running a hand over Quinn's back, she felt goose-pimples rise to the surface and again tried to ease herself away slightly.

Santana felt her stomach drop as she saw Quinn's chin wobble slightly and a single tear escape from glassy eyes.

"Hey, what is it Q? What's wrong?" Heart pounding in her chest, Santana reached both hands to Quinn's cheeks and forced her to make eye contact. Biting down on her lower lip, Quinn shook her head slightly as she inhaled deeply.

Letting the breath out slowly she smiled and dipped her head to capture Santana's lips in a tender kiss. Pulling back, Santana could taste the salt of Quinn's tears on her own lips. Looking at her expectantly she began to feel the all too familiar panic building up inside of her. She needed Quinn to answer her now.

"Being with you, doing this," Quinn swallowed deeply before continuing, "…it has felt...amazing. Every single time."

Santana's heart thudded inside her chest and she looked at Quinn expectantly. "But?" She felt her mouth go dry as the question left her.

"But, this was the first time," her voice shook again and she took a deep breath to try and steady herself, "…this was the first time I could be sure that you actually wanted to be with _me_."

Santana felt her chest ache at how vulnerable Quinn looked in front of her. Reaching behind her own head, she pulled a blanket from the couch and wrapped it around Quinn's shoulders, using it to pull her close, their foreheads resting together.

Using her thumbs, she gently wiped Quinn's cheeks and then moved herself away just enough to be able to look her in the eye.

"I've only _ever_ wanted it to be you. Every. Single. Time."

Punctuating each of those three words with a kiss, Santana fleetingly felt three more words stirring in the back of her mind but, distracted by Quinn's lips moving against her own, they quickly seemed to pass her by.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry it has taken me so long to update folks but, turns out my head canon was totally conflicting with actual Glee and I needed time to separate the two before I could continue. I've extened the chapter, it's almost double what it was going to be originally, so I hope that makes up for the wait:)**

* * *

**Losing Count – PART VII**

Seated side by side, on hard plastic chairs at the bus terminal, neither of them said a word. Santana's left foot bobbed up and down to an unknown beat as her leg was crossed over her right at the knee. Her purse rested against her thigh, between her leg and the armrest, and she tapped out the same beat against it with her fingertips. Public spaces were rarely this quiet, especially in New York City, and Santana found herself looking around the building trying to locate any source of oncoming noise.

The quiet of their space was unusual, but the silence between them wasn't awkward. Santana was aware, though, that there were things both of them were not saying. Their arms rested against each other, shoulder to shoulder and fingertips touching as their elbows leant on the armrest between them. Taking a breath, Santana briefly considered feigning a yawn and comically putting an arm around Quinn, but instead she opted to shift subtly closer, leaning into Quinn's shoulder.

She felt the corners of her mouth morph upward into an uncharacteristically shy smile as Quinn allowed her little finger to tentatively glide over the back of her hand. This action caused the other three fingers to follow suit, each one hovering just above Santana's skin, each one lowered slowly and deliberately until each tan finger was covered by a pale one. Santana felt her skin tingle as Quinn's thumb stroked delicately along the edge of her hand.

Resting more firmly against her, Santana sighed as she tried to glance at Quinn out of the corner of her eye. Smiling, she noticed Quinn's lower lip was tucked between her teeth, a suppressed smirk evident in her eyes which were fixed straight ahead.

Resting her head on Quinn's shoulder, she spoke softly, not wanting to break the calm of the atmosphere surrounding them.

"What are you thinking?" She turned her hand over underneath Quinn's and splayed her fingers in an effort to encourage her to link them with her own.

Doing so, Quinn sighed deeply. "Honestly, I was thinking about Rachel."

Santana's head jerked away from Quinn's shoulder and she turned slightly to look her in the eye, her own eyebrows raised in surprise.

Quinn smiled softly and brought her other hand over to rest against their clasped ones.

"While you were napping yesterday, Rachel told me about her pregnancy scare. She thought I knew. She assumed you would have told me."

Quinn didn't ask a question, she didn't have to. Santana could feel it hanging tentatively in the air between them. She bowed her head, studying their hands and tracing patterns on Quinn's pale skin in lieu of answering.

"It's not often I get to make practical use of my experience and offer advice, you know." Quinn's voice was gentle. There was no sarcasm in her words, no irritation, but perhaps a little hurt was present, lingering in the background. Santana felt guilty. She had felt guilty after pressing _send_ on every text message over those few weeks and not mentioning it at all. Quinn knew about almost everything else occurring in Santana's world and, by extension, Kurt and Rachel's worlds, but this was something she had not known how to broach.

Santana turned to face Quinn, shifting her body awkwardly in the rigid seat. As she met Quinn's gaze, she sighed thinking the sincerity in those green eyes was going to be her undoing. In a way it always had been. Sincerity and fire.

"I'm sorry I didn't say anything. I…I guess I just thought that it was a place you didn't want to go again. Like _you_ were worried that saying _Brittany's_ name was some kind of taboo between us, I just…I dunno," Santana adjusted her grip on Quinn's hand, letting her fingers fall between hers once again, "…I guess I just thought that maybe Beth was like your kryptonite."

Santana's gaze was shifted as Quinn ran her fingertips lightly under her jaw and titled her chin upward. Smiling, she placed a tender kiss to Santana's lips.

"She is." Quinn swallowed thickly, stroking Santana's cheek with her thumb before letting her hand fall to rest again on top of their hands. "But she's also the biggest part of me and…I'm finally at a place where I can look back on everything I did and the choices that I made and…feel proud, I guess." She shrugged her shoulders and let out a long breath. "Sometimes the not talking about it, about her, hurts just as much the talking does, you know?"

Santana nodded. She didn't know at all, but she felt her chest swell at Quinn's words and reached a hand behind Quinn's head to pull her closer for another kiss. "I'm proud of you Q." She whispered the words against Quinn's lips as their eyes met. "I don't think I ever said that, but it's true. You know…you can talk about her anytime, okay?"

Quinn offered Santana a tight lipped smile, nodding in response, her face more serious than moments before. "Okay, but you know you can also talk to me about Brittany too, alright. I know it's different, but she was a massive part of your life and that doesn't just go away because you broke up and I don't want you to think you can't talk about her because of this." Quinn motioned a hand between them.

Santana felt herself relax, confident that the next thing she wanted to say was okay now.

"Well…I thought I might call her tonight. I want to tell her about this before she finds out from someone else. Do you feel okay about that?"

Quinn looked away from Santana and instantly she felt her heart begin to race, concerned that she had said the wrong thing.

"Quinn?"

Turning to face Santana again, Quinn's lips were pressed together and she looked as though she was trying to supress a huge grin. Unable to control herself, Santana mirrored this look.

"What?" She spoke through a smirk and nudged Quinn playfully with her shoulder.

Quinn shrugged. "Yeah it's okay. Of course it is. If you're telling people then obviously you feel as though there's something to tell. If you're telling Brittany then…I don't know. It makes me kind of happy I guess. What about Rachel?"

Santana felt her smile fade slightly at the mention of her roommate and she let out a frustrated groan.

"Q. I don't know. It's just…I kind of like having a dirty little secret to be honest." This earned her a back handed slap to the shoulder and she winced and giggled at the same time.

"Well there's that…and the fact that it's…I mean it's _you_ and she's always kind of idolised you and, besides, she's _so_ dramatic about _everything_. I just don't know if I'm ready for her to make a big fuss about it and get all in my face. She and I need to stay out of each other's business if that whole living arrangement is going to work out."

Quinn shrugged again and nodded her head, a small hint of a smile still playing on her lips.

"I just think maybe you need to lay off her a bit. I know you were really disappointed in her over the whole Brody thing, but I think she knows she stuffed up."

If these words had come from anyone else right now, Santana would probably have given them a verbal bashing, but Quinn's tone was gentle and filled with concern rather than irritation.

"I was disappointed that she instantly allowed that guy to make decisions for her and that she did everything for his validation, despite being that strong willed person who put _us_ in our place plenty of times. I was never disappointed in _her_ and then," Santana paused, thinking of how to phrase the next part without sounding like she'd come completely unhinged, "…then when I found out that he was lying to her I just knew she deserved _better_ and I couldn't believe she'd just let another douchebag-"

"Define her?" Quinn interrupted with a smirk.

"Well, yeah." Santana frowned, looking at Quinn expectantly.

"You said the same thing to me Santana. You _do_ remember Thanksgiving, right?" Quinn teased.

Santana let her mind wander back to seeing Quinn in the McKinley auditorium after almost three months apart, that beaming smile looking up at her from the stage. She remembered performing with her and Brittany for the new Glee Club members and she remembered their argument in the choir room, in which they both said things they'd later regret.

"Yeah, of course, you know I do."

"So is it a douchebag thing, a man thing or just a person thing Santana? Is this, whatever we are…do _you_ want to define _me_?"

Santana knew Quinn was playing with her and the mood between them was light, but the fact that the question had been put out there meant that she owed it to both of them to answer it properly. Her gaze wandered to the elderly man seated across from them who kept fidgeting with his jacket, taking things from his pockets and examining them closely before replacing them. Glancing back toward Quinn, she hoped that her own features accurately reflected the genuine meaning behind her words.

"I'm not interested in defining you. I would never want to do that. I'd actually like to just stand beside you and keep watching you define yourself."

Santana was acutely aware that the way she spoke with Quinn involved a level of honesty she couldn't sustain with many people in her life. She felt heat overtaking her face under Quinn's warm gaze and her heart sank slightly as a quick glance at the clock ahead of them signalled the end of an amazing weekend. Quinn smiled in response and as Santana turned back around in her seat, she felt Quinn lower her head, resting it on her shoulder.

As Quinn's bus pulled in and passengers began to flood out from the open door, she rose to her feet and offered a hand to Santana. The noise which filled the terminal was an unpleasant shock after the hush of the past half hour and both of them cringed slightly at the sudden bustle around them. The small heel on Quinn's boots emphasised their slight height difference and Santana found herself glancing upward to meet Quinn's gaze.

"So do you…umm…do you still have that red dress you wore to the wedding?" Quinn bit her lower lip shyly, although her eyes appeared to light up playfully.

Santana felt herself smirking at the question, unsure of where Quinn was going with it, and squinted at her curiously. "I do…why do you ask?" She drew out her own response, questioning slowly.

Santana noticed a flush creeping across Quinn's cheeks as she brought her hand to her face, self-consciously, and began chewing at her thumb nail.

"Well, not next Saturday, but the following one there's this mixer on campus…"

"Ooh, a _mix-er_." Santana teased, interrupting Quinn who stared at her with a look of mild frustration.

"Well…that's what they're calling it. It's semi-formal and…"

"And," Santana interrupted her again, seeing where she was going, but enjoying watching Quinn squirm as she worked her way towards the real question, "…you want to borrow my red dress?"

Quinn sighed in frustration and Santana had to hold back a giggle as she put her hands on her hips and glared at Santana, her cheeks now bright red.

"Okay, I'm sorry," Santana stepped into her and grabbed Quinn's hands from her hips, dragging them around behind her own body before placing her arms around Quinn's neck, "…I'm just messing with you Q. So, can I assume you'd like me to be the one to wear the dress?"

Quinn sighed and nodded her head, looking down at the small space between their bodies. "I was hoping you'd be my date." Her voice was barely audible above the scraping of luggage and idle conversation of the other commuters who were beginning to board the bus.

Dipping her head, she caught Quinn's gaze and smiled at her, eliciting a shy smirk.

"I'd really like that." She pulled Quinn close and kissed her slowly, wanting to make their final moments last as long as possible. As the line behind them grew shorter she removed her hands, reluctantly, from around Quinn's neck.

"Maybe come up on the Friday and we can make it a whole weekend if you like?"

Quinn reached down and pulled up the handle on her small suitcase, clicking it into place before reaching her other hand towards Santana's.

"Definitely. Text me when you get in tonight?" Santana squeezed Quinn's hand and grudgingly let it go, their weekend officially over. She passed Quinn her small overnight bag which had been sitting on the chair beside them.

Quinn nodded and, smiling, turned around and headed for the bus. Santana watched as she made her way towards the back and selected a seat on the left as the driver started the engine causing the vehicle to vibrate into action.

As it pulled away she returned Quinn's wave and turned away quickly, not wanting Quinn to see her face fall as a heaviness settled almost immediately in her chest. Santana zipped up her cropped black vest and shoved her hands into her pockets, her purse tucked up under her arm, as she strode out of the building and made her way back to the loft.

* * *

Dragging open the heavy door, Santana was relieved to see Rachel on the phone when she returned home. Covering the mouth piece, she whispered '_Kurt'_ and Santana nodded as Rachel turned around to continue speaking.

Heading into her curtained off area, Santana removed her boots, jacket and dress and pulled on pyjama bottoms and a black McKinley Phys Ed t-shirt over a long-sleeve stretch top. Grabbing her phone from her purse, she scrolled through her recent call list until she found Brittany's name. The date indicated that they hadn't spoken since the day before the wedding. She did the same with her messages, knowing they'd been more frequent, but was surprised to see little more than a dozen in the space of a month. Comparing this to her messages with Quinn was silly, but she couldn't help but smile to herself as she scrolled through, having pressed _Load Earlier Messages_ twice and lost count at around 65.

Santana tapped her phone against her palm, not really knowing how to start a conversation like the one she needed to have. Momentarily, her bitchy side kicked in and she considered just texting Tina and letting the information filter through the McKinley grapevine, knowing it would reach Brittany directly, or eventually. Sighing, she knew that was not the right thing to do and she grabbed her green zip-through hoodie and pulled it on before padding back out to the main living space.

Rachel had her legs tucked up under her on the couch, channel surfing whilst still speaking to Kurt. She tapped Rachel on the shoulder to briefly interrupt the conversation and Rachel turned; the phone still pressed to her ear.

"Hi Kurt," she called across Rachel before straightening up and waving her own phone in the air, "…I'm just going out into the hall to ring Britt, okay?"

Rachel nodded and patted Santana on the hand as she rested against the couch. "Good luck." She whispered the words as she covered the mouth piece and Santana scowled at her in response.

Taking a deep breath, she dragged back the door to the loft and walked out into the chilly hallway before pulling the door shut, securely, behind her. She walked the short distance to the staircase and sat down on the top step, back resting up against the, poorly paint-stripped brick work. Zipping her top all the way up to her chin, she pulled the hood over her head and pressed the home key on her phone. She smiled to herself as an image of a letter box with a rusty number 5 displayed on her lock screen along with the date and time.

Grateful there was no time difference between Lima and New York she unlocked her phone and pressed the green and white handset button. Brittany's name was displayed in black halfway down the screen. Pressing the blue arrow, Brittany's picture appeared in the top left hand corner of her screen and Santana's thumb hovered over the FaceTime button; a moment's hesitation before pressing it lightly.

Clearing her throat, she drummed the fingers of her free hand against the splintered floorboards and waited for Brittany to pick up the call. Her own face filled her screen and she instantly regretted choosing this method of calling as the light in the stairwell was so dim.

The call connected and Santana's image shrunk into the corner of her screen as Brittany filled the main space. Hearing Brittany's voice, the enthusiasm matching her expression, Santana was filled with the same feeling of conflicting emotions she had felt after speaking to her the day before Valentine's. Satisfaction and regret. These two emotions were rarely mixed or felt simultaneously, but Santana knew she had made the right decision to end things the way she did and, yet, she wished the two years prior had been different. If they had been, if she had been able to be honest with Brittany and honest with herself, they might be in a very different place now.

The fact that they weren't, however, was the reason she was calling. As Brittany joked that she thought Santana had been trying to send her messages by owls who kept getting lost, she felt herself relax into the familiar and was pleased that they hadn't lost everything when their relationship ended.

Trying to think of how to word her news about she and Quinn, Santana played with a loose thread on her top and, pulling at it, made it twice as long as it had been to begin with. Shifting her gaze back to the bright form of Brittany in her bedroom she apologised for being slack with her communication.

"…yeah, I've been super busy and," she paused, still considering her choice of words "…I've also had a few _distractions_ lately. That's what I was ringing to talk to you about actually."

Santana felt her pulse pick up slightly and she wiped a sweaty palm against the fabric of her jacket, pulling the hood down further over her forehead. She closed her eyes, confident that Brittany would barely be able to make out her changed appearance. Saying this aloud to Brittany would be the first time she'd admitted to anyone what was going on. There was no hiding behind pseudonyms this time, Brittany deserved the truth.

Brittany looked intrigued by the very prospect of some gossip and looked closely at the screen as if she were trying to see Santana more clearly.

"Well I kind of feel a bit weird saying this, but I wanted you to hear it first from me…" her voice trailed off as she saw Brittany moving around her room and the screen went completely white, Santana hearing only muffled sounds in the background which distracted her from her train of thought, "…Britt…you right?"

She rolled her eyes as Brittany picked the phone back up, explaining the obvious, that she was getting into bed _now_ to ensure she didn't forget to later on if the call went for a while. On more than one occasion she knew Brittany had woken up freezing cold in the middle of the night, having fallen asleep at her desk after a long phone call. Santana breathed out a small laugh and heard the static reverberate back through the phone as Brittany adjusted herself under the bed covers.

Once she was settled, Santana found herself falling into silence once again and was surprised to hear Brittany ask her, outright, if she was seeing someone. She looked back up at her and was confused to see an impassive look on her ex-girlfriend's face. She knew Brittany's intuition was usually correct, but it still unnerved her when she was able read between the lines and pick up on what Santana was _actually_ saying. She supposed inference was the only thing which had kept Brittany around back in the days of little talking and no outward feelings.

"Yeah," she faltered, "…I have started seeing someone Britt," she made eye contact with her as best she could given the poor light, "and I wanted to tell you about it, but I guess I don't know where to start to be honest. I haven't really talked to anyone else about this and…" she paused again, "…what makes this kind of weird is the fact that you know her."

Brittany made the valid point that Santana knew Sam too and she tried not to grimace at the sound of his name. Neither of them pointed out Santana's initial frustration at the news and she decided the best approach, in continuing their present conversation, was just to spell it all out.

"It's Quinn." She blurted the words and covered her face with her hand as if doing so could make her feel less exposed. She felt somewhat tense waiting for Brittany's reaction, but breathed out a relieved laugh when Brittany sounded only mildly surprised and mused that she hadn't realised Quinn was a bi-corn as well.

"Well, I don't really know if she is to be honest. We haven't really talked about it." Santana nervously pulled again at the thread on her top and cursed herself silently as she saw she had removed almost an entire row of stitching. She had considered broaching the topic with Quinn, but was also concerned that any analysis of their situation may put a stop to it. That was something Santana was certainly not prepared for right now.

She was comforted by Brittany expressing similar sentiments, pointing out that if it was something which Quinn was at all bothered by, she'd probably be able to tell. Santana nodded as she felt a lump beginning to form at the base of her throat. The look in Brittany's eyes told her she was probably thinking of the early days of their relationship when Santana was the one bothered by labels and afraid to name up what they were to each other. She also knew, though, that she and Quinn were talking. They were making an effort to be honest with each other and she felt confident that Quinn would not be asking her to be her date at an event if she didn't _want_ to be with her.

Brittany apologised, again, for not having told her about Sam, her face falling for the first time, and she explained that she'd been quite frustrated with Tina for interfering. In that moment Santana felt as though she could forgive the girl anything, her innocence and vulnerability as obvious as it had been when they met four years earlier.

"I get it now Britt. I do. And you two seem to have a lot of fun together. He's a good guy Brittany. Just make sure to tell me if he's not treating you right, though, and I'll come back there and kick his arse."

The two shared a laugh and then fell silent, Santana feeling the cold from the brickwork seeping into her skin. She moved away to lean against her knees, one arm dangling down to play with sock feet on the second step. The silence was broken by Brittany yawning and Santana looked up, smiling as she saw her laying down in bed in the room which had become so familiar to her over the years. She smiled. This is what moving on felt like. It wasn't comfortable, but it was necessary and, for the first time in a long time she felt as though she was really free.

She heard the rustling of covers and let her mind wander back to the day before when she and Quinn had been looking at the butterflies in the glass display box at the quirky gallery. Being free felt a lot like being suspended in mid-air and it was now her responsibility to keep herself in flight.

Remembering that she had to get up early for Cheerios practise before school, Brittany explained she should probably go, but asked Santana to promise to keep in touch more regularly. A soft smile, and gentle reminder to take care, warmed Santana's heart and she was grateful for everything that was Brittany, despite the fact that she was hers no longer.

After ending the call, Santana sat on the step letting the cold seep further into her bones. She shook her head as it dawned on her that she had ended her last relationship because, essentially, maintaining it over state lines had become too difficult. Of course there was more to it than that, but here she was again, starting _something_ with someone else with whom distance was going to be a problem.

Already she felt herself missing Quinn. It was as if the idea of the distance between them was worse than the reality. They had been apart an hour and if Quinn lived a few blocks away she knew she would probably be feeling differently. Picking herself up, she wandered back into the loft and, bypassing a still talking Rachel on the couch, she headed straight for bed.

Checking the clock, she rolled onto her stomach and tucked her pillow up under her chest. Replying to Quinn's most recent message she simply text 'Home safe?' and checked Twitter as she waited for a response.

After favoriting two tweets from Angie Harmon, Quinn's response caused the phone to vibrate in her hand, the quiet buzz accompanying the message which appeared, in part, at the top of her screen. Smiling, she went into _Messages_ and felt her grin widen at Quinn's words.

_Just got in, daydreamed [nightdreamed] all the way home. Really glad you invited me, I don't know how much longer I would have lasted without some of my questions being answered. Is it lame to say I already miss that face. Two weeks, well at least it's only two weeks this time. Sweet dreams Santana x_

Shifting onto her side, she gazed at the message for a few moments as she considered her response. After typing and erasing several message ranging from a few words to a few lines, she settled on something simple and hoped it was received well at the other end.

_Had an awesome weekend. Two weeks and something to look forward to = sweet dreams xx._

* * *

Santana quickly learnt that Monday to Friday at the loft with only Rachel was a general blur of drama and frustration. On the mornings Rachel left early for classes, Santana breathed a sigh of relief, content that she could stay in her pyjamas and robe until there was enough hot water for a long shower around lunch time. On the days when Rachel's classes started late, mornings at the loft would have made good television; a dramedy of errors in which the two seemed to clash on almost everything.

Santana couldn't believe she was actually desperate for Kurt to return and, more so, was shocked that she had told him this; begging him over the phone and via text message to book an earlier flight. Both the phone call and the text message were followed up with apology calls and texts when she realised that pressuring him, under his current circumstances, had been terribly unfair.

Apologising and begging were so out of character for Santana that she felt somewhat ashamed of the person she seemed to have become. When she thought about it, however, also out of character was the fact that she was residing at the Hummel-Berry residence in the first place and she was having some kind of obviously-sexual-but-maybe-something-more relationship with, of all people, Quinn Fabray.

If the Santana of Sophomore year had heard about one of these things, let alone all of them, she would have taken drastic measures to ensure recently-graduated-New-York-City-Santana would never exist. In the moments when Santana wasn't feuding with Rachel or stressing about work, money and her future she found herself replaying the weekend in her mind. She closed her eyes trying to remember the sensation of every touch and pictured the look in Quinn's eyes when it was only them. She knew that the remainder of the fortnight would see all clocks moving at a painfully slow pace.

Tuesday night would have marked the first official shift for Santana at the Coyote Ugly Saloon after having had a couple of midday 'training' sessions in the two weeks prior. When the training itself had involved being groped by patrons who looked as though they'd forgotten to leave the night before, Santana threw in her midriff top and stormed out while telling the other underage girls the job was all theirs.

This left her, once again, without a source of income and she spent a large portion of her time walking the nearby blocks to drop in her details to any and all local businesses. While she still had money from her mother, she was very aware that it would not last long, especially with impromptu trips to New Haven now in her immediate future.

Rachel was elated that she had chucked in her bar job and, apparently speaking for Kurt as well, informed Santana that the job was a predictable choice and one she was glad to see had worked its way out of her system early. Over the course of the week she listened to endless minutes of 'high moral ground' drabble, all the while biting her tongue about the fact that Rachel had recently broken up with a prostitute. There was something both comforting and slightly disturbing about having Quinn's voice playing Good Cop in the background of her mind, supressing her natural Bad Cop urges.

* * *

When Kurt arrived back in New York on the Saturday, Santana quickly regretted having prayed for his imminent return. Every time Rachel turned her back or left the room, Kurt tried to broach the topic of the Emily/Quinn debacle with her and his persistence irritated her beyond belief.

Monday evening saw a 'family' dinner at the loft and Santana wracked her brain for another mealtime option which would allow her to avoid what was bound to become another prying fest into her love life. Without the ability to make up a suitable excuse in time, Santana found herself at the kitchen bench chopping onions and grating a block of vegan cheese for the not-meat pizzas Rachel was planning. The ingredients surrounding her made her feel decidedly not-hungry and the sly grins from Adam, who was slicing semi-dried tomatoes beside her, did nothing to elevate her mood.

"Listen David Beckham, if you chop off a finger because you spent your whole slice and dice time staring at me, I am _not_ calling the paramedics." Unintentionally she held her knife upwards, tilted slightly towards his face as she spoke, both sarcasm and frustration dripping from every word.

"I'm just a little curious about how things went with _Emily_ last weekend." He spoke quietly out of the corner of his mouth as though he hadn't yet mastered the art of whispering or turning his head.

"Yeah well, Hugh Grant, you know what they say about curiosity, so shut the hell up and pass me that bowl." Santana motioned towards a blue ceramic dish on the end of the bench and snatched it out of Adam's hands aggressively as he went to hand it over.

The remainder of their pizza preparation time continued in silence and, if it weren't for Rachel being chipper at the dining table, the entire meal could have been consumed in cold, uncomfortable silence.

"So, Santana, when do we get to meet Miss Emily Stark? I mean, I know Kurt has already met her, but I mean like this." She gestured across the table, her hand sweeping over their food and beverages as though she was being filmed for a television advertisement. "Something slightly more…formal." Rachel reached for another slice of pizza and completely missed the rather pointed eyebrow raise from Kurt before he decided to stir the pot.

"Well now, I wouldn't say I've met Emily, per se, it was more of…an encounter. I think I startled the two of them actually." He turned to Rachel and laughed heartily and Santana nearly strained her eyes, having rolled them so hard.

"Just drop it Kurt. We're not discussing her anymore. I'm tired of you all ribbing me over this, and you wonder why I won't just bring her over and introduce her to you all. Imagine the grilling we'd both receive then." Wiping the corners of her mouth with her paper napkin, she stood up from the table and threw it down onto her plate, a half-eaten piece of pizza remaining untouched. "I'm exhausted. I'm going to bed."

As she moved away from the table, she noticed Kurt's smug expression fall from his face as though he were a mime and had just brushed his hand downward over his features. Satisfied that he felt guilty for hitting a nerve, she took herself off to her area and pulled the plug from her phone, where it had been charging, and text Quinn.

* * *

While slothing about the loft in her pyjamas on Thursday, Santana received a call from a bakery, two blocks from where they lived, asking her if she could come down for a chat with the manager. Cursing Rachel and Kurt for having early classes, knowing they would have urged her to shower much earlier in the day, she raced to the bathroom and readied herself in record time.

Having re-considered her outfit three times she had decided upon a black skirt, which reached a little lower than most of her others, a pale green blouse and a white blazer. With her purse tucked under her arm, she smoothed her palms down the front of her skirt as she neared the bakery. Working a job such as this was by no means beneath her, but it certainly wasn't what she envisaged when she decided to move to New York. Pausing to straighten her posture and take a breath, she pushed against the handle on the glass door to _Loafers_ and put on her best 'employ me' smile.

Less than twenty minutes with manager Henry Morse and Santana was feeling as though _Loafers_ might actually be the perfect transition job for her. The two laughed hysterically for the majority of the informal 'interview', Henry sharing the same sarcastic wit as Santana and appreciating her returning fire to many of his remarks.

Having taken a year off from college, Henry's grandson had been helping to run the front of the bakery. Henry explained to Santana that with James now heading back to college he was looking for someone to provide a welcoming face to customers and to liase with the bakers about product turnover to ensure the business ran smoothly. Her main roles would be to serve customers, maintain light cleaning duties and, when needed, assist in cake and pastry decoration. The other role Henry wanted her to sustain throughout all of this was to keep the mood of the business light. He hoped that her humour would be enjoyed by the customers and, aside from excellent products, would keep them coming back.

Her first shift was to be the following Monday, after explaining she was unavailable to begin over the weekend, and Henry wrapped her up in an affectionate hug before she left. Normally, Santana would cringe at such a display and follow it up with a few choice words to ensure it didn't happen again, but Henry reminded her a lot of her abuelo who had passed away when she was 15. With little to no love from her abuela since she came out to her, Santana was somewhat surprised that she had welcomed the familial feeling Henry had evoked.

Leaving _Loafers_ with a uniform, and more spring in her step than she'd had upon her arrival, she opened her purse to locate her phone so she could call Quinn with the news. Checking the time, she knew that Quinn should be on a break and was just about to swipe at the unlock button when Quinn's image filled her screen and her phone vibrated in her hand.

Feeling her pulse pick up with both amusement and delight, she answered the call and put the phone to her ear.

"Hi! I was literally just about to call you!" Santana sat down on a nearby bench, struggling to juggle her purse and the bag from Henry while talking.

"Really, well that was well timed. What's going on?" Quinn sounded much the way Santana felt and she didn't know if the butterflies flitting about in her stomach were about Quinn, her new job or a combination of the two.

"I got a new job!" She declared the news as if she'd won the lottery. "I start Monday."

"That's awesome. Where is it?" Quinn's enthusiasm only added to Santana's jubilant mood as she explained the call she'd received and the conversation with Henry.

"So why were you calling me anyway?" Santana couldn't wipe the smile from her face as she crossed her legs and scanned the relatively quiet street, suspecting lunch was the reason fewer people were outdoors.

Quinn faltered at the question and Santana's concentration was averted back, now giving Quinn her full attention.

"Umm…well I guess I wanted to ask you something. It's kind of been on my mind since I left New York and then Peta asked me about it today and I realised I didn't know what to say."

Peta was Quinn's roommate and Santana's mind started reeling at all the things which could have been preoccupying Quinn's thoughts in the past two weeks. The idea most prominently placed in her mind was Quinn defining her sexuality, something which had, in fact, been on Santana's mind since Brittany mentioned it the day Quinn left.

"O-kay. Well, ask away Q." Santana hoped her voice came off as gentle as she had hoped, despite her building nerves.

"Well, umm. I mean I'd rather have this conversation with you face to face, but I was just wondering, I mean I know we have a lot of fun together and I get that you kind of want that to continue, but I guess," Quinn paused and when Santana heard her take a deep breath, she did the same, "…I was just wondering Santana how you actually feel about me. About us and what we're doing."

The question itself came as a relief of sorts, but it still held so much weight and Santana wished that Quinn was sitting with her as she tried to form an answer as best she could.

Closing her eyes she tried to conjure up the most appropriate words to describe how she felt and the more she thought, the further away words seemed to be.

"Santana? Are you there? Have I said the wrong thing?" The concern in Quinn's voice was clear and Santana felt a small ache in her chest in hearing that tone.

"No Q. Not at all, but I wish we'd talked more when you were here. I'd rather have you with me. I think that would make this easier."

"It would make everything easier San." Santana smiled at the nickname which Quinn had been using more than her full name since this had all started. She felt the familiar rush to her stomach, which she often experienced around Quinn; the feeling giving her an idea.

"Okay well, are you anywhere near a park? Like a kids playground or something with a swing set?" As soon as the words left her mouth she felt silly and, even though Quinn couldn't see her, she brought a hand to her face to hide the small blush developing in her cheeks.

Quinn let out a breathy laugh. "Nowhere near anything like that and I have class in twenty minutes anyway. Why?"

"Umm…well that doesn't matter. Can you close your eyes?" Santana closed her own and then opened one and glanced around her, holding her bag and purse closer to her body before closing her eyes again.

"Umm..okay, but why San, what will this do?" Santana could hear the uncertainty and confusion in Quinn's voice.

"Do you remember when you were a kid and you would go on a swing at a park and your feet didn't quite touch the ground so someone would need to give you that first push?" Santana created a vivid image in her mind of a six year old version of herself doing just that.

"Yeah." Quinn's voice was still tentative.

"Well after that first push, I had to use my legs to keep the momentum going. Once I would get myself swinging really high I would lean backwards on the downward swing and sit up quickly as I moved upwards. Do you remember that feeling in your stomach when you would do that?"

Santana could hear Quinn smiling as she responded. "Yeah, it's a bit like when you're driving down a really steep hill or when you ride to the top of a building in an elevator and then stop too suddenly."

"Exactly. Well that stomach flip," Santana felt vulnerable with her eyes closed, so opened them up and sat up straighter on her seat, "…that feeling Quinn, that's how you make me feel. That feeling, the excitement that almost makes you feel sick, that's how I feel when I'm with you, or when I think about you when we're not together."

Santana heard Quinn gasp on the other end of the line. "Are you okay?" Her voice was particularly quiet and laced with concern that perhaps she was the one who had said the wrong thing.

"Yes. That's...that's exactly how I felt the first time you kissed me. I thought maybe it was the alcohol, but it felt like that again the next day. I felt it every time you touched me Santana and then, when we were together the week before last, it was intensified even more."

"Really?" Santana breathed the word againt the phone.

"Really. I just wish you were here right now so I could kiss you."

Santana's eyes closed involuntarily at Quinn's words and she felt herself smiling foolishly, sure if anyone walked past where she was seated on the bench, that they would think she looked ridiculous.

"So what does this have to do with Peta then?" Santana was amused now and slightly intrigued.

"Well I explained to her that you were coming up for the _mixer_," ever since Santana had teased her she had placed an emphasis on the word, "…and she asked me what we were. I felt silly because I didn't know how to refer to you and then I kind of panicked because I realised I didn't know how to introduce you to people on Saturday night."

"Well, can I make a suggestion then?" Santana's tone was playful and flirtatious and Quinn responded with similar intonation in her own voice.

"Sure you can. Go ahead."

"How would you feel about introducing me as your _girlfriend_?" Santana's heart began to race the moment the words left her lips and a small part of her wanted to grab them and put them away, having never let them escape in the first place. The small squeal, however, which left Quinn's throat and caused Santana's stomach to flip yet again, changed her mind and she was glad she had put the word out there and even more pleased with Quinn's response.

"I really think that's the only word which means any of this makes sense." Quinn's tone had become suddenly shy again, but Santana could hear an element of excitement which she was feeling too. _Girlfriend_. It felt different travelling through her lips now and it looked different in her mind, but the meaning was still the same and Santana slumped forward, leaning her elbows against her knees as she let the words sink in. _Quinn Fabray is my girlfriend…_


	8. Chapter 8

**I know, I haven't updated in forever...**

**Anyway just a heads up that this chapter is a little NSFW (or the gym, TJ & Kell).**

* * *

**LOSING COUNT PART VIII**

If their 'rooms' at the loft had actual doors, or if Santana had learned to close her curtain occasionally, she may have been able to avoid the barrage of questions from Rachel. With her small suitcase open on her bed, she moved various piles of clothing around, testing combinations and trying to decide what she should take for the weekend.

"…could you just tell me where you're going?" Santana could tell Rachel was trying to keep her tone light while, really, she was demanding the information as though she had every right to know about her intended whereabouts.

"I told you, I'm going to see Emily." Santana bypassed Rachel and headed for the bathroom, deciding to pack her cosmetics and toiletries while considering which outfits to take with her.

"Okay, but Santana, where exactly will you _go_ when you _go_ and see Emily Stark? Where does this Emily Stark even live? Is she a student? Does Emily Stark have a job? When will we get to meet this Emily Star-"

"Oh my God!" Santana interrupted her and slammed her moisturiser down on the bathroom bench, causing Kurt to flinch from his position on the couch. "Are you serious with the twenty questions Rachel? You need to learn to take a breath. And why do you keep calling her Emily Stark? Just say Emily, like any _normal_ person would or, better yet, say nothing at all."

For an aspiring actress, Rachel was either terrible at hiding her emotions, or feigning hurt remarkably well. Feeling that it was perhaps the former, Santana closed her eyes and took a deep breath, once again regretting the tone she had taken with her housemate. A quick glance at Kurt confirmed that she had gone over the top, disapproval evident in his scowl.

"Santana, I don't understand you. Every time I think the two of us have made some progress in getting to know each other, you turn into this grumpy high school closet case who is still _so_ afraid of anyone knowing who she _really_ is." Rachel's words struck a nerve, but Santana clenched her jaw, determined not to bite back immediately. "I had enough verbal beat downs from you then, I don't need to put up with them now. I _won't_!"

Rachel turned on her heal and performed one of her infamous Rachel Berry walk outs, storming over to her corner of the loft and ripping back her curtain before trying to whip it across the runner swiftly to close herself in. With two attempts before finally succeeding at shutting herself away, Santana felt guilty as she stifled a small giggle at the indignant look on Rachel's face as it disappeared behind the curtain.

"We really need to get that girl a bedroom door to slam." Santana muttered the words as she folded her arms and stared at Rachel's closed curtain feeling somewhat guilty and yet relieved at the same time.

"_You_ really need to get that girl an apology. She's been kept in the dark this whole time and, frankly I'm tired of keeping my mouth shut. I wouldn't normally keep any secrets from Rachel and, thinking back three years, I never would have imagined I'd be keeping one for _you_."

Kurt went back to reading his book, but his words stung Santana like a slap to the face. It wasn't the first time she'd looked around her, since moving to New York, and realised just how bizarre their situation was. She had given Rachel and Kurt such a hard time when she first met them and she was particularly ashamed at the way she had berated Kurt about his sexuality. She knew now that she had been deflecting, but knowing that didn't take back those words or remove the hurt.

Feeling dissatisfaction settle at the base of her throat, her next words were soft with defeat. "You're right Kurt."

Staring across the room, she couldn't think of any logical reason to continue keeping the truth from her and, in that moment, wished she'd been honest from the very beginning.  
As she walked past Kurt towards Rachel's closed curtain, she saw his eyes widen, saying nothing as he let the book close in his lap.

Knocking on the wooden beam, Santana pulled back a corner of the curtain. "Rachel," she spoke tentatively, "...can we talk?"

Rachel turned from her position at the window and leant against the framework, arms folded.

"What is there to say Santana?" Rachel's voice was flat and her face unusually expressionless.

"A whole lot actually." Santana reluctantly uncrossed her own arms, knowing that she looked every bit as defensive as she felt, but wanting to show Rachel that she was trying to be open.

Rachel walked over and sat down on the end of her bed, gesturing flippantly for Santana to sit in the small armchair opposite.

Taking a deep breath, Santana walked over to the chair and sat down on the edge of it, leaning forward with her elbows pushing against her knees. Looking down at her hands she tried to think of the best way to phrase her admission.

"The reason I've been so..." she motioned a hand in front of her face as she tried to come up with the appropriate word, "..._secretive_ about all this Emily Stark business is because," she paused, taking a deep breath and looking Rachel in the eye for the first time, "...it's because…well, Rachel…it's Quinn."

Santana held her breath, studying Rachel's face and trying to read her puzzled expression. The woman cycled through several versions of shock and surprise before settling on confusion.

"What do you mean? _What_ is Quinn, Santana?" The genuine disbelief was evident, her brow furrowing as she looked incredulously at Santana.

She sighed, not having expected that she'd be required to spell it out. "Rachel, Quinn and I are seeing each other." She cleared her throat, the words still feeling strange leaving her mouth. "Uh…we're together."

Rachel's jaw dropped and her eyes widened comically at the news.

"I don't- I…does Quinn know about the whole Emily Stark thing?" Rachel rushed.

Santana frowned, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes. "Um, yeah, she's the one who told _you_ about it, remember?"

"So does _Emily_ know about _Quinn_?" Rachel had placed a hand to her chest dramatically as though she was experiencing some kind of pain. Santana almost laughed aloud as she realized what Rachel meant.

"Rachel, the Emily thing…it's not a real thing, it's _just_ Quinn." Santana wished she had Quinn's damned fake ID handy so she could put an end to the inane conversation which was taking place.

"So you're saying," Rachel stood up and pointed a finger at Santana, "…that because Emily's not the real thing and Quinn, Quinn _Fabray,_ _IS_ that you think it's okay to be two timing Emily?"

"Rachel, Emily Stark does _not_ exist!" Santana exclaimed the words as she stood up shaking her head. Walking over to the window, she fished her phone out of her bra and dialled Quinn's number.  
"But two timing Quinn is what got me into this mess in the first place." She muttered the words to herself as she listened to the dial tone and waited for Quinn to pick up.

"Hi San, this is a surprise!" Quinn's voice was bright and a welcome relief to the odd tension in the room.

"Hi yourself. Umm...Q, I've told Rachel about us, well…at least I've _tried_ to." Santana's tone was gentle and wary as she wished she'd spoken to Quinn before deciding to confess the news.

"_O_-_kay_ then. Are you alright, did it not go okay? You kind of sound a little funny." Santana smiled warmly at the genuine concern in Quinn's words.

Turning around she noticed Kurt was now peeking through the curtain, a strange look on his face, indicating to Santana he had been listening in the whole time.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Rachel is just a bit…_confused_. Can you text her a picture of your ID?"

Quinn laughed. "What, won't she believe you? As if you would make _this_ up!"

Santana smiled. "I know, I think she _is_ finding it rather hard to believe," Santana eyed Rachel and offered her an understanding smile, pleased when it was returned, "...but for a minute there she thought I was seeing you _and_ Emily."

Santana could help the grin which spread across her face at the sound of Quinn giggling on the other end of the line. "Well, _Rosario_, technically you are."

The flirtatious tone in Quinn's voice, which always appeared at the mentioning of her pseudonym, sent heat to her cheeks and this was exacerbated by her heightened awareness of being watched by Kurt and Rachel.

"Hey, I need to finish packing, can you send her the pic and I'll see you tonight?" Santana had lowered her voice, her body angled slightly from her two roommates.

"Okay, I'll send it now, but San?"

"Yeah?"

"I…" Santana heard Quinn sigh, "…I just...I've really missed you. More than I thought. I think I've had a bit too much time to myself, you know?"

Santana felt her chest filling up with Quinn's words. She knew exactly how she was feeling. Lowering her voice further, she turned to face the window again. "Yeah, I know, me too. I should get in a bit before 5, okay."

Hanging up the phone Santana turned slowly from where she had positioned herself near the window at the corner of the room. Feeling self-conscious, she played with her phone, scrolling through old messages, not wanting to make eye contact with either of her housemates.

All three jumped at the sound of Rachel's message tone breaking their silence.

"Oh. My. God. Quinn _is_ Emily Stark. This makes absolutely no sense Santana. How can you and Quinn be together?" Rachel gestured toward Santana with her phone and she felt herself blushing, uncharacteristically, at her tone.

Santana opened her mouth to respond. With what, she was completely unsure, but she was saved momentarily by Kurt chiming in with his two cents worth.

"Yes Santana. I mean, I'm glad this is all finally out in the open, but how is it that you two are now an item?" He folded his arms over his chest as he leant against the beam at the entrance to Rachel's 'room'.

"Geez guys, thanks for the overwhelming display of support. Nothing like the third degree to make a girl feel like sharing." Santana walked back to the small arm chair opposite Rachel's bed and sunk down in it heavily, crossing her legs. Both Rachel and Kurt were staring at her expectantly and she threw her hands up in defeat as it occurred to her that nothing in her life was likely to remain private for long if she lived with the two of them.

"Fine. Well, like I said a couple of weeks ago, things kind of began when we were all home for Thanksgiving last year, but then it was at Mr Schue's failure of a wedding that…things…changed…for us." Santana spoke warily, not sure how to phrase something she was only beginning to understand herself.

"So what you're saying is, you and Quinn had sex at the wedding." Kurt's blunt wording came as a shock to both Santana and Rachel and they chimed his name in unison, chastising him.

"What? Are you going to tell me that it didn't happen that way?" Kurt walked over and leant against Rachel's chest of drawers and Santana felt suddenly claustrophobic under his challenging gaze. Standing up, she slipped her phone back into her bra and smoothed her hands down the front of her jeans.

"You know what Kurt, it _did_ happen that way," crossing her arms again, she narrowed her eyebrows at him and tried to control the slightly wounded tone of her voice, "… but, you know what? At least we didn't hurt anyone. We're still together and the both of us want to make something of it, which is more than I can say for the shit the two of you pulled that night." She eyed each of them briefly before striding towards the open curtain.

"I don't have time for this." She shook her head slowly, "I need to pack."

* * *

Santana looked up at the tall grey building and slung the garment bag over her arm while reaching into the back pocket of her jeans for her phone. 5:08 pm and still no message from Quinn. She was supposed to have met her out the front at 4:45pm, but when Santana had text from the bus saying she was running late Quinn phoned her immediately, whispering, explaining that her study group was also going overtime and she'd send a message when it was through.

Sitting down on the wooden bench seat next to the freezing cement stairs outside Quinn's building, Santana hunched her shoulders against the cold and brought her knees up to her chest. Wrapping her arms around her legs she rubbed her hands together, trying to warm them as the cold air of the early evening stung her fingers.

Watching enviously as other people, more wisely dressed for the weather, headed towards the building and went inside, she contemplated rushing after them and waiting for Quinn in the foyer. As she tapped her feet erratically against the bench, she let out an audible groan when a mild gust of wind sent an even greater chill through her and she cursed, drawing the attention of an older woman who had exited the building. Staring after the woman, whose hands were shoved deep inside the pockets of her oversized coat, a flash of red caught Santana's eye moments before she realised it was Quinn running towards her down the concourse.

Unable to tame the grin which had instantly spread across her face, Santana rose from the bench, grabbing her things and walking towards her. Quinn skidded to a stop in front of her and doubled over, hands on knees, trying to catch her breath.

"God, its _freezing_ Santana," she panted the words and straightened up, "…I'm so sorry it took so long."

Moving a step closer to pull her into a hug, Santana rolled her eyes as Quinn bent over again gripping her side and sucking in a deep breath. When her bag swung off her shoulder and landed on the ground in front of them, Santana reached for it only to feel Quinn's hand swipe at hers, adjusting it on her own.

Santana frowned. Confusion and disappointment swimming around her as two weeks of anticipation left her feeling somewhat taken aback by Quinn's flustered response.

"Let's get inside." Walking straight past Santana, Quinn rummaged around in her bag looking for her keys.

Trailing her suitcase behind her, Santana followed Quinn up the front stairs and waited as she swiped her key card, a low buzzing noise signalling to them that the door was unlocked. Marching with Quinn up to the third floor, Santana could hear the sounds of some nonsensically titled Fall Out Boy song booming through the hallway. Quinn hesitated outside her door and Santana felt the all too familiar churnings of anxiety which came with any action or word, from the girl, which lacked certainty.

"Ugh," Quinn glanced to the door beside her own and rolled her eyes, "…that goddamn music drives me insane. It's _constant_." She twisted the handle aggressively and shouldered the door, standing aside to let Santana enter first.

The room she shared with Peta seemed too small for two people to live in comfortably. It was very similar to the room Santana had been forced to share in Kentucky, but since living at the loft with Kurt and Rachel her perspective on space was now quite different.

Despite knowing Peta was gone for the night, Santana still felt slightly uncomfortable about being in the other girl's space and sat awkwardly on the edge of Quinn's single bed while she fussed about 'tidying' the already immaculate space.

"I had expected to actually have some time to put things away before you arrived". She threw some clothes into a basket at the foot of her bed and moved a stack of books from the floor by Santana's feet, placing them on the desk before bending to pick up the half which had immediately toppled off the unsteady pile.

A light buzzing in Santana's pocket alerted her to a new message and, checking her phone, she found it was Rachel wanting confirmation that she had arrived safely. Quinn didn't notice her tapping out a response to the girl or sliding her phone back into her pocket, preoccupied by placing her own bag under her desk and wheeling Santana's small suitcase over beside her chest of drawers. At some point the sound next door had morphed into _Heavy Cross_ and Santana was grateful for the muffled tones of Beth Ditto to cut into the silence of their immediate space.

She listened intently, concentrating on the lyrics, subtly tapping out a beat against the carpet. She tried to give Quinn some space, despite the claustrophobia she felt inside the room. The song's second verse began, but Santana couldn't remember a single word, completely preoccupied by the lack of eye contact from Quinn. She couldn't stand the tension any longer and, feeling her heart pound in her chest, she reached out her hand and grabbed hold of Quinn's wrist gently.

"Stop." Her voice was quiet and uncertain and, standing up, she placed her hands on Quinn's hips. "I don't _care_ what this room looks like. I've come here to see _you_."

Quinn inhaled deeply and let out the breath with a sigh, relaxing visibly at Santana's words.

"Okay, sorry, hang on." Turning again she picked up the black garment bag containing Santana's red dress and hung it on the hook on the back of the door. Sheepishly, she looked over her shoulder at Santana and smiled, walking back slowly and putting her arms around her neck.

"Okay, I'm good now. I'm done." Santana's hands found their place on Quinn's hips once again and she pulled her closer. Relaxing immediately, Santana sighed and smiled, her heart now maintaining its rapid rhythm for an entirely different reason.

"Good, because I've been waiting almost two weeks for a kiss and I'm kind of dying over here."

Without hesitation Quinn smiled, ducking her head slightly, and placed a slow kiss to Santana's lips. Unintentionally Santana let out a low moan, the simple gesture having a greater impact after their time apart.

"I'm sorry I kept you waiting," Quinn whispered as she moved her hands to the back of Santana's neck, lacing her fingers through black hair, "...you know what I'm like. I couldn't relax until…"

"I know," Santana interrupted, nodding and silencing her with another kiss, "…but you know what _I'm_ like too."

"Impatient?" Quinn teased and Santana felt a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"_Yes_, and _two weeks_ is a really fucking long time for someone like me." Wrapping her arms around Quinn's neck, she smiled as she felt Quinn's hand slip under her top, fingers linking against the bare skin at the small of her back.

"I thought you were taking me to dinner, you don't want to be starting something you can't finish Fabray." She arched an eyebrow and smirked at the glimmer in Quinn's eye which was accompanied by the mischievous biting of her lower lip as her hands began to roam.

"Well," Quinn moved her hands from under her top, Santana's eyes fixing on her fingers as they began to unzip her cropped vest, sliding it off her shoulders, "…I just figured, knowing you," she paused, now grabbing the hem of Santana's top and dragging it slowly up her body, "…you'd want to change into something a little more…revealing…before we went out."

Santana felt her breath hitch as Quinn pulled her top the rest of the way off and then reached down to fumble with the button on her jeans. Flinching in pleasant surprise at the contact, her nerves reacting instantly, Santana watched as Quinn teased her fingers along the waist band of the black fabric before popping the button.

Leaning into her, Quinn allowed her cheek to brush against Santana's and she trailed her fingers tantalisingly around tanned skin again, her hands running up and down Santana's back.

"I think you can take it from here." Quinn's breath ghosted over Santana's ear and sent a pleasant chill up her spine. Shaking her head she smiled before shrugging her shoulders and pulling her jeans down, kicking them off.

Standing in only her underwear, she crossed her arms, a satisfied grin on her face.

"Well now I'm undressed and have no _idea_ what to wear." Her grin widened as Quinn's eyes roamed her body and she shifted her weight from one foot to another, obviously trying to resist the urge to step closer.

"Well…our dinner reservations aren't for a while yet and," Santana could see the rise and fall of Quinn's chest become more pronounced as she considered her words, "…I probably need to change too, so…"

"So," Santana interrupted, unfolding her arms and closing the gap between them, "…you'd like me to help you get out of this, then?" She teased, feeling her breath quicken at the sight of her own desire mirrored on Quinn's delicate features.

Nodding, Quinn turned around, guided by Santana's hands, and swept her hair over her shoulder to allow Santana access to the zip on the back of her red, printed dress.

Before touching the zip, Santana wrapped her arms around Quinn's waist, overlapping her hands as they rested against her stomach. Placing gentle kisses from the base of Quinn's neck, slowly moving up towards her ear lobe, she felt a beautiful tension begin to stir in the centre of her body as Quinn pressed herself back against her.

Besides the sounds of their own breaths, Santana could also hear the faint echoes of an Ed Sheeran song and smiled at its appropriateness in contrast to the rapid drum beatings which had welcomed them in the hallway minutes before.

Undoing the zip slowly, Santana began placing kisses to the increasingly visible expanse of milky skin before her.

"I love this song." Quinn breathed the words, leaning instinctively into Santana's touch.

The zip only halfway down, Santana trailed her fingers back up the gap she had created and moved Quinn's hair over her other shoulder before kissing her neck.

"So I shouldn't go next door and tell them to turn off that goddamn _constant_ music then?" Santana whispered, teasing her lips against the shell of Quinn's ear.

Quinn moved her arms around behind their bodies and held onto Santana's narrow waist with both hands, her head lolling back against Santana's shoulder.

"You're not going anywhere." Quinn turned her head, whispering the words against Santana's lips before allowing Santana to pick up where she left off.

She placed kisses all the way down Quinn's spine, following the path left by the opened zip. Reaching the small of Quinn's back, Santana knelt behind her and ran her hands slowly up the fronts of Quinn's legs. As she passed her knees she felt them buckle slightly and Quinn gasped, leaning forward and holding herself up against her desk.

Hands reaching the hem of Quinn's dress, she stood slowly again dragging it upwards and over the girl's head. Tossing it aside she curled herself against Quinn, who was still relying on the desk for support, and smoothed her palms over her hips and stomach, gradually moving upwards. Cupping her breasts over a thin layer of material she pulled Quinn into her, feeling her chest expanding rhythmically with increasingly rapid breaths.

Holding onto to her to keep her standing upright, she flattened out her right hand, gliding it downward to rest back against Quinn's stomach. Her left hand moved upwards over Quinn's chest, her fingertips wandering delicately around her neck before she dragged her fingernails lightly over her back. When Santana unhooked Quinn's bra she felt her shudder against her before turning in her arms and capturing her lips in a passionate kiss.

Quinn's lips moved against hers effortlessly, the hands behind her neck pulling her in deeper as her tongue flicked against Santana's top lip. As their kissing became more intense, Quinn leant back against the desk once more, sitting on the very edge, making them the same height. Santana's legs were either side of Quinn's right thigh and she could feel the heat forming between Quinn's legs just as it was between her own. Removing her own bra, she cursed in pleasure as their chests touched again, Quinn's hardened nipples tracing patterns against her skin as they moved together.

"You need to cancel dinner," Santana panted, breaking their kiss for the first time since Quinn had turned around, "…we're not going _anywhere_ tonight."

"Okay, but we'll need to eat." Quinn licked her swollen lips, her skin flushing a deeper red when Santana smirked at her and raised an eyebrow at her choice of words.

"Yeah, we do." Santana's low tone was unmistakable and with a playful slap Quinn shook her head, a grin overtaking her features as she tried to offer up a questioning look.

"Alright, we'll order in later, but this," she brought a hand up to cup Quinn's chin before placing a gentle kiss to her lips, "…is my one priority right now."

Wordlessly, Quinn manoeuvred them back towards the bed and, pulling the covers aside, gave Santana a gentle shove, forcing her into a sitting position. Maintaining eye contact, she stood by the bed and removed her underwear before pressing a hand to Santana's chest, urging her to lay back. She dragged Santana's panties down, painfully slowly, and Santana gasped as Quinn lay down, positioning herself between her legs.

Needing to kiss her, Santana tilted her head to capture Quinn's lips and a low moan escaped her as Quinn's tongue darted out to play with hers. Relishing in every stroke from her tongue, Santana tangled her fingers in blonde hair and pulled her closer. As they kissed she felt Quinn rocking her hips subtly against her and she mirrored the movement instinctively, feeling the pulse between her legs intensify.

Quinn's movements soon became more purposeful and she broke their kiss to look Santana in the eye as she moved against her. Santana felt her brow furrow under then intensity of Quinn's gaze and wasn't sure if she would last much longer feeling Quinn moving the way she was.

Quinn began leaving a trail of kisses down her neck while she ran a hand over Santana's breasts, her open palms grazing each nipple.

"I haven't been able to stop thinking about you these past two weeks." Quinn's whispered words tickled against warm skin as she dipped her head, smoothing her tongue against an erect nipple before wrapping her lips around it and sucking hard.

"Uh, what did you…think about?" Santana felt herself growing wetter at the very sound of Quinn's voice and, despite wanting her lips to keep working their way down her body, she wanted to keep the girl talking.

"I-ah," Quinn faltered, stilling her movements and causing a mildly frustrated gasp to escape Santana's throat. Running a hand down between them she paused before lifting her hips and running a single finger through Santana's wet folds, "…I've been wondering what you'd feel like against my tongue."

"Fuck, Quinn." Eyebrows knitting together, Santana gasped and licked her drying lips as Quinn put her finger in her mouth, licking Santana from her skin. Lowering her head, she resumed placing slow, lingering kisses over Santana's chest and down her stomach.

As Quinn passed her navel and shuffled down the bed further, Santana's breath hitched. Glancing down at Quinn, Santana's heart thudded in her chest at the look of desire in Quinn's eyes, and she felt her breath quicken simply holding her gaze.

Moving further down, Quinn stroked her fingers teasing along the underside of Santana's thighs before leaning in and sucking gently on the sensitive skin. Santana's body was screaming for Quinn to keep going, but she was also very aware that this was a new experience for her and wanted her to take her time. The fact that it was new for Quinn also turned her on even more and as Quinn switched from polite kisses to flattening out her tongue and dragging it towards the wet heat between Santana's legs, she let out an audible moan.

As Quinn finally ran her tongue along Santana's centre, both girls cursed loudly, Quinn's breath attaching itself to the most sensitive parts of her. Santana forced her eyes open to look down at Quinn working between her legs and was unable stifle the moans which escaped from her throat with each new stroke.

When Quinn's tongue circled her throbbing clit, Santana instinctively brought a hand down against the back of Quinn's head, urging her to maintain the contact. Obliging, Quinn alternated between licking and sucking and Santana felt herself being wound tighter and tighter. Quinn broke the rhythm to flatten her tongue, running it the length of Santana a few times and when she hovered above the swollen nub, once again, Santana's head shot up from the pillow to see why she'd stopped. Quinn's warm breath was now the only thing making contact with her aching centre.

She was met with a playful smile, Quinn's incredible green eyes penetrating as she smirked and lowered her head once more and flicked her tongue against Santana's clit. Rolling her hips down against Quinn's tongue, repeatedly, was all it took for Santana to lose control and she threw her head back against the pillow as her hands grasped frantically for something to grab hold off, eventually reaching behind her to hold onto the wooden bed head.

"Oh fuck, Quinn!" Santana panted as her movements slowed and Quinn gradually kissed her way back up her body. Still rocking slightly against Quinn, small aftershocks from her orgasm surprising her, Santana reached down and placed her hands on Quinn's cheeks. Encouraging her closer, she kissed her languidly, gasping at the taste of herself on the girl's tongue.

"That, was fucking incredible Fabray." Santana kissed her again before Quinn rolled onto her side, pulling Santana towards her so that they lay facing each other.

"It was okay?" Quinn smiled, biting her lip again and Santana let out a low chuckle.

"If that's what my reward is for going without for two weeks, then we need to make it two weeks _every_ time." Now it was Quinn's turn to laugh and she ran her hands up and down Santana's arm, both women sighing into the touch as her fingertips tickled over smooth skin.

* * *

Two hours later, when Quinn's comforter was on the other side of the room and the fitted sheet had sprung from the end of the single bed, Quinn phoned to order a pizza. With a 30 minute wait, the two dressed haphazardly, and walked the short distance down the hallway to the communal bathroom.

Walking past the large mirror, which ran the length of the wall above the sink area, Santana smirked and turned Quinn to face their shared reflection.

"If anyone could see us right now, they'd know _exactly_ what we'd been doing." At this, Quinn's eyebrows shot up, mild horror forming on her face.

"Then get in a goddamn shower before anyone sees you." Quinn turned quickly heading for a shower on the far side of the room and Santana followed, stifling a giggle at the look on the other girl's face.

When Quinn tried to close the door to her cubicle, Santana pushed against it causing her to spin around, wide eyed once again.

"Santana," she hissed, "…we can't do this _here_!" Quinn poked her head out of the partly open doorway and looked around frantically.

"Well," Santana's teasing tone caused Quinn's startled look to diminish slightly, "…if you don't let me shower with you, then I'm not going to shower at all and I'm going to sit right there," she motioned towards the bench in the centre of the room, "…and start singing a song about everything we just did." She knew it was absurd, but she knew it would both amuse Quinn and see her getting her way.

On cue, Quinn grabbed her arm and pulled her inside the cubicle with her. Santana smiled smugly and hung her towel on the hook before sitting her clean clothes on the ledge on top of Quinn's. She undressed silently, her back to Quinn and when she turned expecting to see the girl getting ready, she was surprised that she was still fully clothed.

"Do you need me to help you get these off?" She reached for the waist band of Quinn's yoga pants, but her hand was swatted away and Quinn stood looking incredibly shy, both hands on her hips.

"No one's ever watched me shower before, I feel a little weird about it." She moved her arms, crossing them over her chest and looking down at her feet.

Santana couldn't suppress the grin which took over her face as she looked at how adorably insecure Quinn seemed. The fact that Quinn could be so hesitant to take off her clothes in front of her, when she'd had seen every inch of her body before, was surprising, but not something she wanted to make her feel even more self-conscious of.

Placing her hands on Quinn's hips, she caught her gaze and smiled warmly.

"I didn't bring popcorn. This isn't a show. It's just you and me, just like everything else." She whispered the words gently and a small smile played on Quinn's lips in the moment before she kissed her.

"I'm getting in. You take your time and join me if you want to and, just for the record," she arched an eyebrow suggestively, "…I want you to."

Quinn breathed out a small laugh as Santana shuffled past her and into the shower bay. Turning on the water she realised how cold she had become, standing in the nude, the warm water stinging her skin for a few seconds before she became comfortable. Eyes closed she raised her face towards the shower head enjoying the sensation of the water falling over her body.

When slender fingers snaked around her waist, quickly followed by Quinn pressing up against her, the sensation was momentarily overwhelming. Tempted as she was to start something where they were, she was also aware of Quinn's earlier hesitation and didn't want her to be put in an awkward position if they were caught.

Turning in Quinn's arms, she wiped the water from her eyes, blinking a few times before focussing properly on the girl. Swapping their positions, Santana allowed Quinn to move under the water and instantly regretted her decision to keep things innocent. Inhaling deeply, she let the breath out slowly and tried not to let her eyes follow the path of the water cascading over Quinn's shoulders and down between her breasts.

"You're _so_ beautiful." She licked her lower lip, shaking her head slowly and biting down on her lip as she tried to resist the overwhelming urge to kiss her, at the very least, or fuck her slowly against the tiled wall.

The thought itself caused her heart to race, a flush spreading over her cheeks, and she felt the all too familiar tightening in her lower stomach as a pulse thudded between her legs. When Quinn smiled at her words, the most sincerely contented smile Santana had seen, she felt a pull somewhere in her chest, which rivalled the reactions in other parts of her body, and she took another deep breath, forcing herself to move away.

"I need to get out before I need another shower to recover from this one." Quinn's cheeks flushed at this and Santana turned quickly away from her, stepping out of the shower bay and pulling the curtain hastily along the rail behind her.

* * *

Santana fought sleep for as long as possible once Quinn had switched off her bedside lamp. Cramped together on the small bed Santana's back was against the wall, head resting on her hand as she drew patterns against Quinn's stomach, her tank top bunched up just below her breasts.

The two talked about Lima and both of their conflicting emotions around missing their parents, but being perfectly happy not to be there at all. Quinn spoke to Santana about her father, for the first time since he had kicked her out years ago, and her heart broke as she listened to her talk of the shattered ideal of their family.

They spoke about the frustration of being together after years of existing in the same space only to now be living so far apart. Santana stopped short of saying she'd change that in a moment and wiped the thought from her mind, replacing it with her vision of everything New York represented for her and her future.

As Quinn's words became muddled and slurred by exhaustion, Santana adjusted the girl's top and slipped down the bed, pulling the covers over both of them. Before the persistent pull of sleep caught her and dragged her under, she thought about how beautifully peculiar it was that she felt more content than she could ever remember being when she was right beside Quinn.

* * *

Together they slept the morning away, waking somewhere around 10am and not managing separate from each other until at least 11:30. Quinn had awoken keen to re-enact a dream she described vividly to Santana, whose mildly grumpy mood from having slept uncomfortably, was quickly forgotten.

With plans only to see where the day would take them, until they needed to begin getting ready for the mixer by late afternoon, Quinn mulled over attractions to show Santana around the local area. Deciding on a location for an early lunch, having missed the option of breakfast completely, Quinn reluctantly left the bed first to shower.

While she was gone, Santana took advantage of having the bed to herself and stretched out, massaging aching muscles which were just as likely sore from having slept poorly or from their adventures the night before.

Quinn breezed back into the room 20 minutes later looking far fresher than Santana felt and sporting the same checked shirt she had worn in New York.

"What?" Smirking, she raised her eyebrows at Santana, shrugging with faux innocence.

"You know _exactly_ what," Santana knelt on the bed, grabbing the collar of the shirt, her fingers following the line of the fabric down to the curve of Quinn's cleavage, "…I'm going to spend _another_ day eyeing off these buttons, thinking about how much I want to rip this shirt off you."

"Oh well," placing a quick kiss to Santana's lips, Quinn smiled and shrugged again as she undid one more button, making the shape of her breasts more prominent, "…that's your problem now, isn't it."

Finishing her remark with a wink she turned and threw her pyjamas in the hamper and walked over to pick up her phone which had buzzed obnoxiously against the wooden desk.

Santana collected clothes from her suitcase and picked up the towel she had used the night before, cursing herself for not hanging it properly as she noticed it was still wet in parts. Walking up behind Quinn, she slipped her free arm around her waist and was surprised when she felt the girl recoil, moving away quickly.

"What the fuck Quinn?" Santana reacted this time before disappointment or confusion had time to settle over her.

"It's Stephen." She held out her phone despite the screen being too dark for Santana to read.

"What?" Santana felt anxious and she frowned as her heart sped up waiting for Quinn to enlighten her further.

"It's Stephen. He's going to be there tonight and he wants to see me. I haven't heard from him sin-"

"Remind me who Stephen is and what that has to do with you and me right now." Santana interrupted, raising her voice.

Quinn was silent for a long moment which caused the dull ache in Santana's chest to increase. Still gripping her phone, she gestured again with it as though it would somehow aid her explanation.

"Santana," she lowered her own voice, speaking in a tone Santana couldn't read, "…Stephen Thurley is the Professor."


End file.
